


Broomsticks and Bones

by MetalFox



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Adventure, Blood, F/M, Fighting, First story don't know how to tag, Fluff, Government, Magic and junk, Minor Character Death, Plot, Romance?, Slow Burn, Souls, Witch - Freeform, eventual smut...? if you guys want smut...., running from the law woo-hoo!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-01
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-12 09:54:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 35,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7930249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MetalFox/pseuds/MetalFox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Magic, no matter what form it's in, is always feared. Cyrena never got along with other humans most of the time, they were afraid of her, hated her for her talents, deemed she wasn't 'human'. She always believed that others didn't want to be near her, so when the neighborhood gets some new residents she tries to stay out of their way. Too bad it never works.</p>
<p>She can't run from the past no matter how hard she tries and now her new friends are going to get caught up in her mess, she'll have to rely on magic and trust to get out of it this time. </p>
<p>(edited summary;  cover art at inkedthefox on Tumblr)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New Neighbors

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome! I'm a guilty sinner who couldn't resist throwing an OC into the Undertale universe, hope you all enjoy! Talking mind-to-mind will be in italics, Frisks' dialogue will be in italics and bold.

Cyrena Crow doesn't get scared by a lot of things, most things she can take in stride and usually (rarely) ends up problem free afterwards, but there is one thing that terrifies her, that shakes her straight down to the core of her Soul.

New neighbors.

Face pressed firmly against the cool glass she regards the hulking form of a moving van with a heavy sense of dread in the pit of her stomach, she watches and feels the dread growing as it slows down and comes to a rolling stop in front of the house next door to hers.

She nearly faints at the sight.

 _You're overreacting again_. A gruff voice draws her attention away from the horrifying sight just as her cat familiar hops up onto the window sill to peer out at the van himself, the black cat has streaks of white running through his fur and he looks to her with the most deadpan expression she's ever seen, his three eyes narrowed at her expression.

_You're acting like someone just told you that you have the Black Plague._

"It feels like it! You know my reputation with neighbors...with people in general, I give them the creeps! And something bad always happens too, remember the last couple who moved in?! I SET THEIR BACK DECK ON FIRE!" She didn't mean to let her voice rise but the panic was setting in and it was making it very hard to control her tone of voice.

 _By accident._ He reminds her, tail tip twitching lazily as he turns his piercing gray eyes to the van.

"Venus I'm scared," She wraps her arms around the feline and is grateful when he starts to purr despite his previous cold attitude.

Smothering her face in his soft pelt she clings to the feline for support.

The sound of loud voices draws her attention back to the van, the driver and passenger had climbed out of the van to start unloading the belongings of her mysterious new neighbors, they haven't even gotten anything out before a mini van rolls up into the driveway.

Her stomach knots up and she squeezes Venus tightly, oh no, mini van means kids, kids mean curious wandering and accidents...lots of accidents.

_Great, they have a brat._

Cyrena is so wrapped up in her thoughts she doesn't notice that a child has climbed out of the van, she can barely see the top of their mop of hair and she feels a rush of relief at the sight, one kid is easier to keep safe...good.

 _Isn't that one of those monsters?_ Venus is nothing but curious as he watches the driver door open, a tall elegant looking goat has stepped out from behind the wheel, she's dressed in a soft flowing purple dress that stands out nicely against her white fur, from her Cyrena can barely make out two tiny horns atop her head.

The uneasy feeling in her stomach slowly fades to curiosity and she lifts Venus up to her shoulder, he curls up easily there as she moves to the front door and steps out onto the porch, a slight pin prick to her shoulder causes her to pause midstep and she frowns as she looks to the scowling cat.

 _Its best to stay away Cy, they'll sense your magic_.

She frowns and looks towards her new neighbors, hand grasping at the front of her t-shirt, right over her Soul, that's right...the last time she was near a monster they nearly killed her...mistaking her out flux of magic for a Mage...they have every right to hate a human with magic.

"Yeah...you're right," Turning her back to the yard she steps back into the security of her home, unaware of the curious gazes on her back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cyrena meets her new neighbors and their friends....talk about a thorny situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *warning Flowey is in this chapter and he curses real bad, he has to put money in the swear jar later*

 

A week flew by quickly, Cyrena manages to avoid her new neighbors for the most part thanks to her jobs getting her home at all hours and it seems that the kid had school while their guardian, the goat woman, disappeared during the same time frame each day. But of course her streak of good luck couldn't hold out forever, she was never good at keeping track of days or time and she wasn't aware that it was a Saturday and that her new neighbors were home, outside enjoying the weather just like she is.

  
_Ugh why do you have to have the volume on that thing turned up all the way?_ Venus' irritated tone echoes in her mind and Soul as the cat glares at her from the safety of the porch, the shade was nice and cool while anyone standing out in the sun's rays would feel a nice constant warmth.

 

"It's not turned up all the way you prickly cat, it's a nice volume," Cyrena sticks her tongue out at the bitter feline as she waves her watering can in his direction causing his eyes to narrow further as he growls lowly, "Sides this the best radio station," She adds as she turns back to her chores.

 

Out of the corner of her eye she sees a striped ball slowly rolling across the grass until it comes to a stop near her bare feet, she follows the line it traveled to get there and she feels her heart rate increase upon seeing the child making their way towards her, eager to get their ball back.

 

"Oh hey," She leans down, setting the can aside to pick the ball up and offer it to them, they take it without a word and flash a brilliant smile up at her, their narrowed brown eyes twinkling beneath their mop of chocolate brown hair.

 

"Probably should get back to your mom," Cyrena smiles and gives the child a pat on the head before going back to her chores, hoping that the kid would head back home…..but they didn't seem to want to continue their game because she feels a small hand tugging at the edge of her overalls.

 

Turning her attention back to the patient child she watches as they move their hand in gestures she's never seen before, she feels a chill go through her when she realizes that they're using sign language…..she doesn't know a lick of sign language and she opens her mouth to tell the child sadly that she didn't understand when she feels a brush of magic reaching out towards her.

 

  
_**I'm Frisk , do you want to play?**_ The soft hopeful voice makes her Soul flare slightly at the new foreign feeling, she flashes a tiny smile at them, hoping that they thought she understood sign language.

 

"It's nice to meet you Frisk, I'm Cyrena, you can call me Cy or Rena for short if you like….but uh, didn't you mom ever tell you not to talk to strangers?" She asks glancing past Frisk to search the other yard, no sign of their mom.

 

  
**_You're not a stranger, you just told me your name_**.

 

Oh gosh this kid is smart, "Well you got me there, ok what are we playing?"

 

**_Monkey in the middle!_ **

 

The game was a bit one sided……the monkey for their game was a bright yellow flower secluded to a pot, and it was spouting some very colorful vocabulary as Cyrena and Frisk pass the ball clear over it's petaled face.

 

"Frisk this is a stupid fucking game! This stupid human should be in the middle not me!" He….it? Was furious as Frisk tosses the ball to Cyrena again, she's so used to flowers talking she didn't realize that it was actually talking.

  
**_She's my new friend Flowey, our new neighbor, you need to be nice or else I'll tell Mom you need to put money in the Swear Jar_**. Frisk's firm tone towards the flower made it hard to keep a straight face as she watches the exchange, Flowey wilts slightly at their tone and he casts a dark look towards Cyrena.

 

"What's with that stupid look human?" He snaps, almost hissing now as Cyrena covers her mouth helplessly and snorts, "I-I'm sorry! Just…..you guys are cute," She answers meekly, her words only seem to anger Flowey further cause he starts muttering darkly beneath his breath while Frisk shuffles their feet, bashful at the comment.

 

Cyrena was about to toss the ball back to Frisk when the back door bursts open and the goat woman steps out, apron tied snuggly around her waist it covers most of her purple gown and her anxious expression melts away as soon as she spots the child standing in the yard.

 

"Oh! There you are, my child you had me worried," She steps out into the grass as she wipes her large paws off on the dirtied apron, Frisk apologizes as they rush up to the woman and hug her firmly.

 

Cyrena glances down to Flowey curiously and flinches at the spiteful look he's giving her, what did she do to this guy!? Edging away a step she fights the urge to just chunk the ball the flowers sour face and instead opts to stick her tongue out childishly at it, not noticing that the goat's eyes are now on her.

 

"I'm sorry dear that was rude of me," Her soft voice jerks Cyrena's gaze away from the staring match Flowey was having with her and she feels her face burn with embarrassment, "I didn't even introduce myself properly, I'm Toriel and it seems you've already met Frisk and Flowey,"

 

"Oh uh yeah, sorry, I'm Cyrena," Oh gosh she sounds so stupid! She's terrible at this stuff, she'd rather be around kids all day, adults are so hard to talk with…..

 

"You're our new neighbor, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, it's been such a busy week we never got the chance to properly meet," Toriel lifts Frisk up so the child is perched on her hip and Cyrena can't help but smile at the sight, "Ah yeah, did you settle in ok? I know this neighborhood can be a bit of a pain to get used to. Some of the people around here are nosy…" She trails off as she rubs at the back of her head.

 

Oh gosh she didn't brush her hair, she's in dirty overalls and a old shirt….she's bare foot, she probably looks like a crazy hillbilly. She fights off the mental image as embarrassment flushes through her and she shuffles her feet against the grass, "Sorry for just coming over here, heh I should get back to my chores,"

 

"It's no problem dear, please come over again," Toriel offers as Cyrena nods and sets the ball down in the grass, giving a meek wave to her new neighbors as she retreats back to her house.

 

Well that wasn't too bad……

 

Saturday passed without any more wandering Frisks coming into her yard and she managed to clean up  and trim the flowers, she went to bed late as usual and Sunday rolled around.

 

Ah the perfect day to be perfectly lazy……..usually.

 

"FRISK WE MUST EXPLORE YOUR NEW HOME THROUGHLY WHAT IF WE MISS HIDDEN TREASURES!"

 

Cyrena stares up at her ceiling as she clutches at her hammering heart, Venus hisses darkly from beneath her bed and she can hear barking coming from downstairs, oh no…..Bear.

 

Kicking off her covers she hurries out of her room and stumbles down the stairs, she nearly makes it all the way before tripping on the second to last stair and hitting the floorboards with a loud THUMP, groaning she peels herself off the ground and glares at the now silent dog watching her with the most innocent and dumb expression ever.

 

"Bear……."

 

"Morning Cyrena! There are some people outside and it's very early, did you sleep ok? Did you hear the old person? May I go outside to see?" She groans and lets her face thump against the floor again as she tries to will her sleepy brain to work.

 

Bear can speak freely but his IQ isn't the highest, he speaks his mind just like any regular dog would, except he's not really a dog…..

 

"Bear, you can't remember? You're not……the neighbors don't know about you, they might hurt you," Sitting up slowly Cyrena winces when her back creaks and pops, giving her Hell for having laid half on the floor and half on the stairs, oh well.

 

"But…..but you played with the tiny human…." His ears lower and the twin stars that are his eyes dim slightly as he looks to the floor, Cyrena had accidently created him when her cosmic hourglass broke, now he's a mass of black matter with thousands of tiny stars living within his pelt.

 

Cyrena opens her arms and he bounds over to climb into her lap, bumping her cheek with his head as he pants, she strokes the cool fur along his neck as she sighs heavily, maybe they won't freak out too much? Frisk lives with a goat woman…..and they live with a talking flower…….surely there's more monsters out there too? Maybe they'll take Bear for another monster?

 

"Ok, but you have to stay with me till I know for sure if Toriel is ok with you and Frisk playing," Cyrena says as she untangles herself from the dog to stand, heading for her front door she opens it as she keeps her gaze on Bear. He's so excited to go meet new people and her attention is so focused on him that she doesn't notice that Toriel and Frisk aren't alone today…..

 

Cyrena finally notes the two other monsters talking with Toriel in the shade of a patio umbrella, but by then it's too late to rope in her dog, Bear is on Frisk and the kid is laughing as he drools all over their face, unaware of the sudden hulking figure pointing a blazing blue spear at his back.

 

She's there in an instant, frightened that her dog and Frisk might be harmed in the misunderstanding she doesn't think twice about throwing all her body weight against the new monster.

 

And she defiantly doesn't think twice when the monster turns a single burning yellow eye on her and aims the spear at her face instead, Cyrena is up and running without missing a single beat.

 

She doesn't even register two more monsters coming out to see what was causing all the commotion because the fish lady is hurling spears at her and she's diving into her rose bushes without a second thought, Toriel shouts something but she's already long gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find a quick sketch I've done of Cyrena on my tumblr inkedthefox :) still trying to figure out her hair color haha
> 
> Thank you for reading! :D


	3. Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cyrena meets the rest of the monsters, so far so good.

She loves Bear to death but he has the mind set of a toddler, so when he saw her running off across the yard he rightly assumed it was a game of tag and leaped off Frisk to join in.

She shouldn't be surprised to find herself in this position, sprawled out beneath the wolf sized canine as he pants proudly, laid out across her back to keep her pinned as he gives her pursuer a big dopey-dog smile, "I win!" He announces as Cyrena groans.

Cyrena keeps her face in the cool grass, unaware that the fish-lady is staring at her dog with a mixture of shock and amusement, "UNDYNE THAT HUMAN IS FRISKS' NEIGHBOR!" A tall lanky skeleton lopes across the yard to join them, Frisk perched high on his shoulders, the child looks down at Cyrena worriedly as they brace their hands on the skeleton's skull.

"What?! Could've fooled me, I thought she was a monster hater for a second," The blue-scaled fish grins, flashing sharp teeth as the spear in her hand dematerializes, "The punk was lucky I was distracted by her dog, she would've never been able to push me over otherwise,"

_**Is she hurt? She's not moving**_. Frisk moves their hands as the two look up at them, "I didn't touch her," Undyne says holding her hands up as Toriel makes her way over, holding up the ends of her dress as she looks between all of them then to Cyrena.

"guess she's dog-gone tired,"

"SANS!"

"A-are you ok?"

"My dear the grass is still wet you shouldn't be laying there, you'll catch a cold,"

Bear barely moves as Cyrena tries to roll over, managing to get on her back she lays her arms over her dog's back as she peers up at the group clustered around her, "I'm ok, it's not that cold," She assures the motherly goat as she flashes a smile.

"Y-your dog is very interesting, i-is he a monster?" A small yellow scaled lizard-monster fidgets as she peers at Bear with bright intelligent eyes shielded slightly behind a pair of circular glasses, "No…..he uh, my grandparents made him by accident," She supplies weakly, hoping the answer appeases her curiosity.

Bear finally decides to stand and Cyrena sits up quickly, dusting off stray pieces of grass as she fights back the urge to blush, "I'm really really sorry for tackling you," She meets Undyne's gaze and holds out her hand, "I'm Cyrena, Toriel and Frisks' neighbor…" She says slowly, unsure if maybe she should just keep her mouth shut.

Undyne's toothy grin just grows wider as she briskly clasps Cyrena's hand and gives it a firm shake, clapping her on her other arm as she laughs, "I'm Undyne and this cutie is my girlfriend Alphys!" She scoops up the tiny lizard making her entire face flush as Cyrena rubs at her arm, smiling at the two of them.

"It's nice to meet you," She says genuinely as the tall lanky skeleton with Frisk on his shoulders steps forward, she blinks and tilts her head back to peer up at his face, his skull is long just like his limbs and he's dressed in armor…? A red cape flutters slightly in a nonexistent breeze, "I'M THE GREAT PAPYRUS FRISKS' VERY BEST FRIEND!" He announces proudly as he thrusts out a big red gloved hand.

Cyrena giggles and takes his hand, "It's very nice to meet you Papyrus, Frisk is lucky to have an awesome friend like you," She stumbles as he suddenly yanks her into his chest plate, crushing her in a firm hug, "THE HUMAN THINKS I'M AWESOME SANS! WHICH IS TRUE!"

"heh it is bro, you should probably put her down I don't think she wants to hang out like that all day"

"SANS!" She blinks and realizes that she is indeed hanging in the skeleton's hold, her feet well off the ground she squirms a bit, ok this is getting a bit uncomfortable…

Papyrus sets her down and she adjusts the edge of her shirt just as a shorter skeleton sticks his boney hand out, he's shorter than Papyrus and more squat, a wide easy grin on his skull he wiggles his fingers as she pauses too long, she quickly grasps his offered hand and jumps in surprise when a loud farting sound comes from their clasped palms.

"OH MY GOSH!"

"Good one!"

"Ugh of course,"

"Whoopie cushion? No one has ever gotten me with one of those," Cyrena giggles as she releases his hand, "I'm Cyrena but you probably already know that,"

"sans," he nods his head at her as Bear comes up and buts at her hand, begging to be pet she complies and scratches the top of his head and looks around at the group of monsters, "Ah well sorry for crashing the party," She blushes slightly as she remembers they had all been outside enjoying the nice morning.

"You're welcome to join us dear," Toriel offers quickly, looking at her hopefully as she reaches for Cyrena's free hand that isn't occupied with petting Bear, "I don't want to intrude…"

_**Please?!**_ Frisk suddenly pops up between their mother and Cyrena, clutching at her shirt as they look up at her with the biggest set of puppy dog eyes she's ever seen, she groans at the expression and feels her shoulders slump in defeat.

"You're cruel," She complains as she smiles and ruffles the child's hair making them giggle, "I should change first, can't stay in my pj's all day even though I really want to,"

"nothing wrong with that," Sans says, closing his eye sockets lazily as he lifts his shoulders, Papyrus crosses his arms and scoffs, "OF COURSE YOU WOULD THINK SO SANS YOU ARE ALWAYS IN YOUR PAJAMAS!"

_**Can I come in your house?** _

**"** Frisk you can't just invite yourself into-"

"It's ok, I don't mind, but it's a mess," Cyrena takes Frisk's offered hand and smiles as Bear moves towards Papyrus for pets, the skeleton looks worried for a moment while both Sans and Alphys inch closer to the dog, "He doesn't bite," She assures him, watching as Papyrus nods and gives Bear a single pat on the head.

"You are nice!" Bear says happily, tail wagging rapidly as he butts his head against the skeleton's leg, Papyrus brightens up and continues to pet him, "YOU ARE NICE TOO, FOR A DOG!"

Frisk covers their mouth to stifle a giggle before tugging on Cyrena, pointing towards her house hopefully, rolling her eyes with a fond smile she nods and lets them drag her towards her home.

She wasn't lying when she said her home is a mess, there's books and papers stacked upon every open surface, there's probably around twenty plants in the living room alone and one of them has taken up some of the wall and ceiling, the vines creeping along the plaster innocently.

There's also a bunch of artifacts and knick-knacks sitting amongst the towers of books, even more are gathering dust on a few book shelves lining the walls, Frisk looks around in complete awe, their hand slowly slipping from hers as they look up and sign _**Can I touch?**_

"Of course, go right ahead, I'll be upstairs changing ok?" She ruffles Frisks' hair again and watches in amusement as they scurry off towards one of her bigger book shelves to pick up a glass frame filled with butterflies, shaking her head she glances towards her open door to see that Bear has lead everyone onto her porch, "You can come in!" She calls laughing as she hurries up the stairs.

So far so good…..pausing at the top of the stairs she places a hand briefly over her soul, barely feeling the soft pulse of magic beneath her skin, keeping a lid on it is harder than she thought…..but she wants to be friends with them, its best not to take chances. Shaking her head she ducks into her bedroom and scoffs at Venus who barely opens an eye to watch her, _What happened out there? And why is your magic dulled…?_ The cat lifts his head and peers at her with a hint of worry in his voice.

"I met some more monsters I have to keep up the appearance I'm normal," She rummages around in her dresser, coming up with a simple paint splattered tank she strips out of her overly sized t-shirt and quickly wiggles into it, "I don't want them to hate me…..you know the stories," she says moving onto her pants next.

_Mages, witches, wizards, whatever you humans called them, sealed the monsters underground after the war. I know the story, your grandparents never shut up about it._ Venus swipes a paw over his ears, grooming himself as he keeps his third eye on her.

"Exactly, everyone pretty much hates us, even monsters dislike witches. I'm tired of avoiding people, if I have to muffle my magic and put an illusion on my soul that's what I'll do. They're all so friendly despite what humans did to them, and continue to do," She picks up a pair of shorts and exchanges them for her sweat pants, she doesn't worry about shoes.

_I don't know Cy, if you lie and continue to lie you'll eventually get caught._

Cyrena leans over and raps her knuckles against the wood of her dresser, "Don't jinx me," She warns narrowing her eyes at him, "You know jinxes are real," She reminds him making the cat sigh, she hadn't known cats could do that till she got him, _Whatever you say, why are you getting dressed anyways?  
_

"They invited me over to their house! I think they're grilling out!" She searches around her hair brush with a scowl, ok where is it….

"HUMAN WHY DO YOU HAVE SO MANY BOOKS!"

"Whoa she has a lot of dead bugs! Look how big this one is!"

She smiles and turns to Venus with a raised eyebrow, "Want to come?"

_Fine._ He hops over and easily gets to his perch on her shoulders, wrapping himself around her neck she snatches up an old good luck charm from her vanity and hurries back downstairs, "I like bugs, well most bugs," She says spotting Papyrus and Frisk leaning over a giant beetle in a glass frame, out of the corner of her eye she can see Toriel milling around in her kitchen, acting innocent enough as she peeks at her food selections, uh oh she's going to get a scolding later for not eating better…

Undyne found the decorative swords Cyrena's father got her for Christmas awhile ago and she's eased one out to pose with it, Alphys is snapping photos with her phone and Sans is lounging back in the recliner already fast a sleep….Bear lays at his feet.

Cyrena joins Papyrus and Frisk, smiling widely as they continue to find treasures stuffed away on the shelves, "I've got something for you Frisk if you'd like it," she holds out the charm with a small smile, woven onto a black piece of leather is a small crystal heart, a few small colorful feathers are threaded into the band on one side of the heart, Frisk stares at it in awe and claps, eagerly taking the necklace they slip it on and turn to Papyrus.

"IT LOOKS WONDERFUL FRISK!" Papyrus smiles widely as Frisk turns to hug Cyrena, _**Thank you it's so pretty!**_ She giggles and hugs them back, "My parents say it's a good luck charm," She informs them as she looks to Papyrus, "Would you like one of the bugs?" She asks him as he gasps loudly.

"YES FRIEND THAT IS SO KIND OF YOU! FRISK HELP ME PICK!" He scoops them up to go browse the shelves thoroughly making Cyrena laugh at the sight, Undyne and Alphys join in on their hunt, the four of them debating and voting between various framed insects.

"My dear you barely have any food! Do you always cook frozen meals?" Toriel makes her way out the kitchen with a motherly frown on her face, she called it!

"I uh, can't cook," She supplies weakly with a shrug, blushing faintly as Toriel shakes her head firmly.

"I can teach you if you like, and you're more than welcome to come over and have dinner with me and Frisk whenever you wish," Toriel says, smiling warmly at the girl as she takes her hands to give them a squeeze.

"T-thank you," Cyrena returns the kind smile in slight disbelief, she's never had neighbors like them….

"That reminds me, we should get back to the cook out," Toriel gasps, eyes widening slightly at the thought as she hurries over to gather the others so they can make their way back to her yard.

Sometime during the exchange Sans made his way over to Cyrena's side and stood there quietly, smile lazy and eye sockets half-open, his hands stuffed in his pockets, "You're all so kind, I've never had nice neighbors…" She mumbles softly, talking just to talk as she watches the group finally decide on which bug Papyrus should take home, she's so wrapped up in the scene she doesn't notice Sans relaxed expression become troubled as he stares at her, his white pupils focused intently on her chest.

He's staring at her soul.


	4. Cook out and Invites

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's such a short chapter this time around :(

"how well do you know her Tori?"

Toriel passes another hot dog to Sans, the skeleton placing it on the grill with his gaze trained on the picnic table set up in the grass, the white pinpricks of his eyes are on Cyrena.

"This isn't the first time she's come over, honestly she tends to stay to herself, Frisk loves her though," Toriel says with a soft frown, a bit of worry settling into her upon seeing her friend's concern, "Why do you ask?"

"there's something…..off about her, that's all," he says rotating the grilling hot dogs, "something bout her soul is bothering me, color doesn't seem quite right, like it's being forced,"

"Forced? Is that possible?" She watches the human girl as Frisk wins again at tic-tac-toe, her forehead is pinched in confusion and awe as she looks down at the child, focusing intently on Cyrena she waits as her Soul comes into focus, it's a heart just like Frisks' but Sans is right, the color is off.

Human Souls are powerful, stronger than monsters and all the Souls they've seen are vibrant, ranging in different colors depending on the person's main sense of purpose or personality, however Cyrena's has a milky tint to it, the color looks to be Green but it keeps wavering, like a mirage.

"That's strange, I've never seen one like it," Toriel races a paw to her face in concern just as Cyrena looks up towards them, as if sensing they were talking about her she gives a small smile and a wave but her gaze seems off the longer she watches them…..she frowns softly as she takes in Toriel's worried expression.

Toriel quickly flashes a smile and waves back before looking down to Sans, "Do you think she's ill?"

"nah it'd be more gray or a sickly green if she is," he responds, his free hand is stuffed into his pocket as he finishes cooking the food on the grill, setting them aside to a free plate as Frisk comes scampering over, their plate covered in left over crumbs.

They hold out their plate to Toriel and sign, _**Can Cyrena stay the night? We don't have school tomorrow and I want to show her our movies!**_ Frisk hops up and down excitedly, lightly tugging at Toriel's dress as Sans fixes them another hot dog.

"If she wants to my child, we don't know if she has plans for tomorrow or not," She smooths down Frisks' hair as they take their plate back from the grinning skeleton, "mind if Paps and I crash here too?" he asks after Frisk hurries off towards the table again.

"….Don't scare her off Sans, she's a good human, I'm sure there's a reason behind her Soul," Toriel mumbles softly, smiling kindly down at him, "And yes you two are welcome to stay whenever you want, you know that,"

 

"Stay the night? Sure, I love movie nights," Cyrena giggles as her words make Frisk jump up and down in their seat, _**We have tons of snacks too! And we can build a pillow fort and play games too!**_ Their enthusiasm is contagious and Cyrena smiles widely as she begins to get excited for the approaching night too.

"WOWIE YOU TWO ARE LUCKY THAT SOUNDS LIKE LOADS OF FUN!"

"tori said we can stay over too" Sans slides into the free spot on Cyrena's left as his brother gasps loudly, gloved hands coming up to grasp at his cheekbones as he looks to Frisk in utter joy, "NOW I CAN BECOME FRIENDS WITH YOUR NEIGHBOR AS WELL!"

Frisk's smile widens as they clap and begin signing to Papyrus excitedly, Cyrena notices that if they're not focusing on her or trying to communicate with her she can't understand them….she studies Frisk's hands intently, trying to make sense of their signing fingers.

"did you see the movie about the hot dog?"

She turns her attention away from Frisk to peer at Sans, "What?"

"he was an Oscar Weiner,"

She snorts and covers her mouth as he grins broadly, hot dog in hand as he watches her trying to recover, "what did the Buddhist monk say to the hot dog vendor?"

"I don't know, what?"

"make me one with everything," A collective groan goes up around the table and Papyrus looks on the verge of both laughing and yelling as Frisk flashes Sans a thumbs up and a grin.

"SANS CAN YOU PLEASE NOT CORRUPT MY POTENTIAL FRIEND!?" Papyrus cries as Sans shrugs his shoulders in response, his hot dog gone, "aw come on bro it wasn't that bad, 'sides I bet there's wurst out there," Papyrus shrieks this time as Frisk and Cyrena struggle to contain their laughter while Undyne controls a smile and Alphys shakes her head slowly.

Tonight is going to be an interesting night…

 

_Why are you going over there again?_ Venus has been in an odd mood since the cookout, he's been sticking close to her as she moves around her room trying to decide on what she should bring over. "It's a sleepover, we're going to watch movies, play games and eat snacks, it's a human thing, you wouldn't understand," She teases scratching the feline behind his ear.

_I don't like that one thing, the short one._ He says quickly, watching her anxiously.

"Short one?"

_In blue, he seems off, and he was watching you a lot, did you not notice?_ Cyrena pauses and purses her lips before resuming her packing, stuffing some socks, some fluffy purple pants with black cat faces on it, and a black tank-top with the words 'I need Coffee' on it, into a small bag.

"I was talking with everyone, didn't really notice Sans watching me, besides he was friendly and funny, what you don't like comedians?" She smirks earning a cold glare from the cat as his tail twitches in aggravation, _I should at least come with you._

She sighs and sets the bag onto the pile of blankets occupying her bed, "I dunno Ven….I love you but if you wanted to talk I couldn't just do it out in the open, they'd think I'm nuts," She places a hand on his head and gently smooths the fur back along his skull, making him purr softly.

_I'll only talk if it's an emergency, I promise._ Venus looks up at her pleadingly and she sighs before running a hand through her thick silver curls, a few of the strands are faded hues of pinks, blues, and purples, a lot of people ask where she got it dyed and she has to make up a salon name on the spot, she can't tell them it's natural….."Crap," She gasps eyes widening as she reaches up to touch the skin under her eyes, "I can't sleep with my contacts in…how am I going to explain the color…what if they see?" She was so wrapped up in Frisk's excitement she hadn't thought about her eyes.

She wears blue colored contacts to hide her iris color, one of them is a prescription contact and without it in she tends to get headaches or has to stick to wearing glasses, _You can bring a sleeping mask, change them out quickly and keep them nearby while you sleep so that when you wake you can put them back in without them noticing?_

Venus looks pleased with himself as Cyrena smiles widely, eyes lighting up with excitement, "That might work!' She says scooping the cat up in her arms, squeezing him lightly as she giggles, "Tonight is going to be so much fun!"


	5. Panic In The Bathroom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far! Thank you so much for reading!

Cyrena decided to swing by their house a bit early to see if she could help Toriel with snacks and dinner, sure she doesn't know how to cook but if she can help the kind motherly-goat in any way she'd gladly do it.

What she didn't expect was the sudden dizzy spell.

She's been keeping a lid on her magic since they moved in, afraid that any sudden bursts of magical energy would frighten her new neighbors and friends away, raise suspicions, so she's only allowed herself tiny outlets like helping some flowers bloom or floating the remote over when she was too lazy to lean over and grab it.

But it's been building for a week now, slowly rising up and up, burning beneath her skin until it's become a constant droning hum and now it's too much.

Quickly ducking off into a half-bath she slumps against the door as she tries to blink away the dizzy spell.

"Are you alright?" Toriel gently taps against the door, voice anxious and filled with worry as she waits for an answer.

"F-Fine, just fine, I'll be out….soon," Cyrena presses her hands flush against her face as her body begins to burn, skin taunt and hot to the touch she slowly slides down to the cool tile flooring, trying to keep her breathing steady as her pulse drums in her ears.

She just has to wait it out….wait it out and hope that Toriel can't feel it, can't feel the magic buzzing around her like a swarm of angry bees, her pulse quickens as her hands begin to shake, fingers numbing as the mirror begins to crack, she gags on a breath as she feels her eyes beginning to burn, her contacts….

Fingers shaking she manages to take them out without ripping them apart, panic begins to rise steadily as the cap on her magic begins to slip…..no no!

She struggles to keep it reigned in, but she feels the built up energy battling against her restraints and the panic settles heavily in her gut as she scrambles away from the door, fearing she'll hurt Toriel and Frisk on the other side….

She stumbles into the tub and gasps sharply, pain shooting through her temples as she clutches at her head as the pain begins to intensify, eyes squinting she feels her fear beginning to grow as she sees multicolored droplets hitting her legs, soaking into the fabric of her jeans as the items lining the sides of the tub begin to quake violently, the sound of glass splintering makes her head throb sharply before the mirror suddenly shatters.

Her ears feel like they're stuffed with cotton…she hears shouting…..but she can't put faces with the muffled cries as her quaking hands keep a firm hold on her hair, eyes unseeing as she stares numbly ahead, the burning droplets falling in a steady stream as the hair between her fingers begins to grow hot.

A panic attack mixed with magic is a horrible combination…..but it's too far gone, she can't pull it back, she just hopes they don't try to come in…did she lock the door?

Another intense flush of pain shoots along her spine and she crumples into herself, trying to muffle her quaking sobs…..please let it pass…..please…..

"HEY!" Something hard makes contact with her cheek and she blinks numbly, eyes watery her vision steadies and focuses, feeling slowly comes back to her hot skin and she feels someone grasping at her shoulders.

Cyrena raises a shaking hand to feel at her swelling cheek, blinking owlishly as Sans' face comes into view and she feels all color drain from her face as she flinches back, "N-No….." She chokes out, trying to move away from him but he's holding her so tightly, his fingers digging into the soft skin of her shoulders.

"P-please I don't…"

"it's fine, you alright?" His pupils dart over her face, grimacing when they drift over her swelling cheek and there's sweat on his skull…skeletons can sweat?

Cyrena can't help but laugh, the sound is sharp and without motion, but she sobers up quickly as she feels more tears build in her sore eyes, she sniffs loudly and suddenly launches herself at the skeleton, clinging to him as she sobs.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry!" She cries, fingers clutching at the fabric of his hoodie, his hand pats her head a few times and he lets out a nervous chuckle as she sniffs and the tears slow, she releases him quickly upon realizing her mistake, eyes wide.

"you ok now?"

"Y-yeah….."

"good, now, how do you have so much magic?"

* * *

How did their sleep over turn into this? Cyrena sips quietly from her mug, the Golden Flower Tea Toriel made soothes her frayed nerves and its magic wraps around her Soul in a blanket of calm warmth, she wishes she could just sit here and enjoy it all…..but she's surrounded by three curious monsters, an even more curious child and a pissed off flower, all of them watching her eyes.

Frisk is sitting in a chair they pulled super close to her, their tiny hand clutching at her sleeve as though they're afraid she'll run the first chance she gets, which is true….darn them…..

Papyrus drums his gloved fingers against the table top nervously, he keeps glancing between Cyrena and his brother, "Are you alright now human?" She's never heard his voice so calm, so quiet, and it disturbs her.

"I'm ok…..I'm sorry, I ruined our sleepover, I understand if you want me to go," Frisk shakes their head and looks to Toriel pleadingly then to Sans, hand fisting more of Cyrena's sleeve as they scoot closer, _**No! Please don't go, we can still have fun, it's ok, you were stressed and it's ok now.**_

"We don't want you to go, please stay, tell us what happened," Toriel says softly, eyes gentle as she reaches over to gently touch Cyrena's hand, "We wish to help in case it happens again,"

She looks over all them in shock, swallowing thickly as her eyes dart around the table, they're joking…."Y-you aren't upset?"

"a little," Sans admits with a shrug as Toriel shoots him a withering glare, "We are not! Ignore him," She says sharply, squeezing Cyrena's hand, "We're…..only a little upset….because you felt as though you had to hide from us…and you don't,"

Frisk jumps as Venus hops up onto Cyrena's lap, he's an anxious mess, having been napping in the windowsill when her magic-panic attack hit he's been pacing around the house anxiously, he glares up at her with three narrowed eyes.

"I'm sorry, I really am, I never meant for this to happen…people don't have a very good opinion on magic, my past neighbors…" She moves her hands to Venus, smoothing down his fur as she swallows, "When they found out they weren't completely understanding, a few moved out without complaint but some were more stubborn. They didn't want to move…..they wanted me to,"

"We would never!" Toriel says hurt, gasping softly.

"she didn't know that though," Sans says, he's been on guard since the bathroom incident but he seems to be relaxing, his constant grin becoming more lax and easing into a frown.

"THEY HURT YOU!?" Papyrus gains his natural volume, worry edging his tone along with anger, they barely know her…why are they so upset for her?

"N-no but they tried to hurt Bear and Venus…..they burnt part of my yard…..their kids would pelt my house with eggs…." She pauses and flashes a tiny smile, "The police know who I am, who my family is, they cleared up everything and those neighbors were fined and finally moved…I knew you wouldn't be violent," She meets Toriel's gaze.

"I was afraid you'd hate me….humans with magic, mages trapped monsters beneath , I figured you'd resent me, I'm a decedent from those mages….." She mumbles, gaze lowering to focus on Venus who has remained quiet except for gentle purring.

"No, we would never hate you! Those people are long gone and you've proven to us that you're nothing like them…you did scare us a bit earlier but we feared for your safety, you sounded like you were in pain…" Toriel says softly, rubbing gentle circles over the back of Cyrena's hand.

_**You're great and kind, you're nothing like them. We love you!**_ Frisk's voice is loud and proud, their eyes sparkling as they look up at her, a slightly smug expression on their face, _**You never knew sign language did you?**_

Cyrena laughs weakly and rubs at her neck with her free hand, "Y-you got me there…."

"kay now that we got that all out of the way, care to explain why your Soul looks like a rainbow?" Sans raises a nonexistent brow, the bone above his eye socket moving.

"Oh…..it happened when I died,"

A collective chorus of "WHAT!?" goes up around the table.


	6. Movies and Untold Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things escalate...and the author sucks at making up puns.

Her parents always wanted children, so when they found out Cyrena was on the way they couldn't be any happier and they eagerly awaited the day for their daughter's birth….but life can be cruel with even the smallest of joys.

She was born early, enough to cause concern and to be kept at the hospital under close watch, tubes and wires were stuck to her and she was confined to a glass case….like she'd break.

Her parents believed that the doctors would help, they knew her body was weaker and premature babies lived more often now these days thanks to medical sciences but there's one thing that caused them great concern that no one else could see.

Her Soul is weak, colorless, even as a baby there's supposed to be a pale aura of color to the Soul, a faint milky hue that grows brighter as the child ages but Cyrena has none.

She was slowly dying, wasting away in that glass container and her parents were growing more and more heartbroken as small spider web cracks inch across their daughter's Soul, doctors would notice too late, they can't see that she's already drifting away.

Barely a week passed, she was dying rapidly now, heart monitor beeping slowly as her heart rate drops then stops altogether, everyone is crowded around the container, her parents and grandparents watch with sorrow filled expressions as the colorless Soul slowly drifts from the fragile baby's body.

Piece by piece it begins to break apart…..till her grandmother reached out with her magic, the soft shade of purple envelopes the breaking Soul and quietly breathes life back into it…..the purple swirls and mixes in the colorless object and the heart monitor gives a soft, faint beep.

Her grandfather starts adding his magic next, and her parents next, till the four colors swirl together rapidly, filling the Soul till she starts to cry, breathing steadily and wailing with life.

They're still not sure how it happened, how it worked, but she's alive and her Soul is colorful.

* * *

"It was tough going after that, I was still weak and my immune system is pretty fragile even now, but I'm here. My parents were concerned for awhile when my Soul didn't take on it's own color, but instead it began to take in other colors…..like a magnet, till it turned into what you see," Cyrena gestures to her chest where her Soul drums in time with her heartbeat, steady and strong.

"Colorless…..I've never heard of that," Toriel exchanges glances with Sans who simply shrugs, seeming to decide not to comment.

Suddenly she's in the embrace of Papyrus and Frisk, both managed to wrap her arms around her and she nearly topples over in her chair, eyes wide in surprise, "I AM SO GLAD YOU ARE HERE FRIEND! TO THINK YOU WERE SO SMALL AND WENT THROUGH SUCH A TRAGEDY!"

She curls an arm around both of them, hiding her face in Frisk's hair as Papyrus cries big orange tears, she decides not to correct him, she was a baby so she didn't go through the heartache…she went through an entirely different loss…..one she struggles to keep out of her memory.

"Let her breathe!" Toriel scolds them and gently pulls Papyrus and Frisk off, the child wipes at their eyes and smiles widely at Cyrena as Toriel brings her into another hug, "I could not imagine what it was like for your family…..and I could not imagine you not being here, it is wondrous what happened…still baffling but you are here, and I will not question it," She smiles and wipes a tear from her eye.

Cyrena can feel her own eyes misting up, she's barely been their friend…their neighbor, yet here they are, crying because at one point she was lost to the world, brought back by pure accident.

"Thank you…um…so…movies?" She suggests weakly, Frisk drags her out of her chair and to the living room, Papyrus close behind.

"I HAVE BROUGHT ALL MY METTATON DVDS!"

_**Mystery movies! Please?** _

"MYSTERY MOVIES ARE GREAT TOO, PERHAPS WE CAN WATCH ALL OF THEM?"

She laughs as they play rock, paper, scissors over which movie they should watch first, but she can't shake the feeling of a certain skeleton's eyes on her back.

_Gosh he creeps me out._ Venus mumbles, she nearly forgot he came along, he's been silently wrapped around her neck, watching.

"Shh," She scolds as she pulls him off her to hold him out in front, the cat looks away from her face, pouting at being shushed.

_He's staring at you! It's creepy!_

"FRIEND?" Cyrena blinks and looks to Papyrus who is staring at Venus, "YOUR CAT HAS THREE EYES! THAT IS AMAZING! BUT NOT AS AMAZING AS THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

"Yeah Venus is pretty cool, but you're defiantly cooler, would you like to hold him?" She offers holding out the quiet feline, "He won't scratch, right Venus?"

_I won't scratch, I'm better than that._

"Yeah sure you are,"

_**You can speak to him?!** _

"He's my familiar, we speak Soul to Soul like you and I are doing," Cyrena explains with a smile, letting Frisk take the cat as Papyrus inches over to stroke Venus' forehead.

_**Can I speak with him?** _

"I'm not sure, you can try," She offers settling crisscross on the carpet as she watches with amusement as Frisk's face contorts with concentration and they stare at Venus intently.

_You're very loud._

_**IT WORKED!**_ Frisk practically crushes the cat against their chest, they remember to be careful however so Venus' cheek is barely smooshed against their shirt, _**Do you have a broom too? Witches have cats and brooms on TV!**_

"You bet! I can take you for a ride sometime!" Cyrena beams excitedly, it's been awhile since she got the chance to ride, she was afraid too many people would see and become anxious around her.

"A broom? Those fly right?" Toriel walks into the living room as Venus is passed over to Papyrus, there are snacks in the goat-monster's hands and Frisk takes a bowl of trail mix from her, eagerly scooping out all the chocolate.

"Yes but they're be perfectly safe, the broom is enchanted and it won't drop a single thing unless I truly want it to drop," Cyrena assures her, flashing a warm smile as she leans over to steal a few pieces of chocolate before the child eats it all.

"maybe I could go first, just to be safe," Sans finally joins everyone, making a beeline for the couch he slouches into the cushions.

"Sure, I don't see why not, I can take each one of you for a ride, but one at a time, I can only fit two people on it," She says, trying not to let their cautious nature affect her.

They don't hate you they're just worried, it's something new, they'll see they can trust the broom, it's not you they distrust.

She smoothers the tiny worried voice at the back of her head with those calming words and looks to the TV as the commercials start, Frisk won so it's a mystery movie first, Toriel dims the lights and settles on the floor as well with a big smile.

Frisk climbs into their mother's lap and offers her the trail mix as Toriel passes the bowl of popcorn she has to Papyrus who is sprawled out on his stomach, arms propping up his skull Venus has settled on the skeleton's back, peacefully purring.

Cyrena moves to the other end of the couch, knowing her back would get sore if she sat too long without something to lean against, plus the couch just looks comfortable.

The night continues without any problems and one by one everyone drifts to sleep, Cyrena is still wide awake, used to staying up all hours working on projects she's shoveling the last bit of the fifth bag of popcorn into her mouth when she realizes that Sans is missing.

Her eyes drift over to the kitchen as she hears the fridge open and close, she stands carefully and moves to the kitchen to drop off the empty bowl in the sink, out of the corner of her eye she sees Sans leaning back in a chair, lazily squirting ketchup into his slightly open mouth.

She turns to face him, expression one of shock as his smile grows into a smirk and he finishes 'drinking', "what….. _cat_ got your tongue?" Venus hops up onto the counter right on time and she smiles, ignoring the inner voice that's questioning why he's drinking ketchup and where it goes….

"You'll have to excuse my staring, it's going to take me awhile to _ketchup_ , haven't been around monsters a lot till now," Cyrena mentally pats herself on the back, happy she actually managed to get a pun in on time.

" _feline_ lucky huh?"

"Nah just _saucy,"_

_I will claw your eyes out._ Cyrena looks to Venus, caught off guard by the cat's annoyance he's been watching them with annoyance.

"aw come on, we barely even got started,"

She looks to the skeleton in shock, "You….can hear him?"

Sans looks at the ketchup bottle as if it's the most interesting thing in the world, "keeping secrets from me isn't the wisest or easiest thing," His white pupils move to train on her face, "so it's best just to come clean….unless you want to _**have a bad time,"**_ The pinpricks of light disappear into blackness and a single cyan blue flame rolls forward, lighting up the kitchen in a stark blue glow.

Her Soul flares and she feels her magic humming just beneath her skin, her own pupils glowing faintly in the near darkness of the kitchen, responding automatically to the foreign magic swirling in the air.

"care to explain why I found your name in a classified file, or are you going to keep telling lies?"

Behind her Venus growls, body expanding till he's the size of a jaguar, the three-eyed feline crouches behind her, flashing his teeth till she holds her hand up, silencing him, "It's not what you think, honest, I'll tell you so long as you don't let the others know. It'll open old wounds I don't want reopened,"

Slowly the flames die down from the skeleton's eye socket and the white pupils reappear, the magic energy crackling dangerously in the air is sucked right back into him and she feels all her muscles relax, she didn't even realize she got so tense…..slowly she moves forward to take a seat as Venus hops onto the table, back to normal.

Sans drums his boney digits against the wood as he takes another gulp of ketchup, "from the beginning, like I said, best to be completely truthful, cause if this comes back to hurt my brother….my friends,"

"Sans, I know you want to protect them and I can assure you that if anything happens it'll happen to me, the people who made that file are only after me,"

So much of her life is being dug up…maybe she should've stayed away from her new neighbors…..


	7. Masks and Apples

Six years later she has a baby sister, she's thrilled, eager to share all her toys and play dress up with her new sibling but her parents say she'll have to wait till she's a little bigger.

Her name was Fay, Cyrena helped to pick it out, choosing stars to narrow down the choices her parents came across the name, which is used in poetry to describe stars, attendants of the moon in the night sky.

Cyrena dotes over her, she's worse about it than her parents and everyone finds it too adorable to make her stop, the two grow inspirable, they never argue and share as much as they can.

Their parents love them both to pieces and couldn't have asked for two better daughters.

Years pass and Cyrena just got her permit, she drove around with a parent in the car for over a month, practicing, when one night she's sent on an errand to go grab a few small ingredients from a dollar store nearby, she asks if Fay can come.

It's just the two of them in the car, Fay riding shotgun, soft brown curls bobbing in time with the music as the two girls sing at the top of their lungs, she's still small, only ten years old, whereas Cyrena is sixteen.

They never saw the truck coming, the driver passed out at the wheel, having drunk enough to kill a small horse, the vehicle swerves over the lane and heads straight for the small car, Cyrena barely has time to hit her brakes.

The headlights burn her pupils as the sound of tires screeching and Fay's screams fill her ears, her Soul aches painfully, magic flaring to life, creating a thin bubble of rainbow glass around the two girls…..but it's not enough.

The bubble was thicker on her side and shatters moments after impact, she feels searing pain then fades into the welcoming embrace of darkness, a few minutes barely passed, she remembers waking quickly, adrenaline rousing her and numbing most of the pain as her mind immediately turns to her sister.

Her baby sister, crumpled in the passenger seat, unmoving, Cyrena's Soul cracks, deep fractures that cause her more pain than her physical wounds, she barely realizes she's sobbing, crying out for her sister as she reaches out to grasp at her tiny shoulder.

She tries to heal her, tries to find her Soul and fix it…..but it's long gone, she died on impact.

And it's all her fault.

Paramedics arrive too late, Fay is gone, the driver of the truck is gone, Cyrena is a mess, magic energy crackling around her like a growing lightning storm, it strikes out at anything nearby, destroying mailboxes, sidewalks, even a power line, and in the center of the mess she sits, wailing for her sister, begging her to come back.

Eventually someone makes a call, says something weird is happening, and moments later a black SUV rolls up, like in the movies.

Cyrena doesn't even see them, the strange expressionless people who somehow avoid her magic, placing cool hands upon her they shush empty words and promises in her ears, calming her and her magic before they help her up and lead her to the waiting car…..her parents arrive a moment too late, watching in horror as their oldest daughter is whisked away….they mourned both their children that day.

* * *

She rubs a hand at her burning eyes, she tried to fight off the tears but they're always there, waiting to be released, she hardly realized that she was gripping one of the skeleton's hands, he doesn't say anything and doesn't meet her gaze but she knows he's still listening.

"The people who took me worked for the government, they know all about magic and witches and whatnot…..they couldn't touch us unless we became unstable and a threat to the public, they took my grieving as a sign I needed to be brought to their labs to study…."

His finger bones tighten around her fleshy digits, "I was there for a year I think, poked, prodded…." her throat tightens further till no words come out.

A silence stretches between them and eventually her tears slow and stop, "I'm sorry,"

Cyrena nods and manages a small smile, "You couldn't have known, some people are so good at wearing masks it becomes hard for them show anything else beneath it, and when that masks finally slips it's like an entirely different being," Her eyes meet his eye sockets and this time his finger bones grip hers tighter, a silent message passing between them.

An understanding.

* * *

**(gonna try Sans pov, kinda?)**

He's still in disbelief, trying to wrap his skull around everything she told him, what she said about that mask is true…..the girl he saw at the table wasn't someone he recognized…..the look in her eyes was something he's seen in himself, a heart ache so deep, pain that won't leave your mind and festers there, that nagging belief that it can happen all again.

He doesn't like that look on her.

The night passes quickly and he dozes off and on, brief nightmares try to stir but they break off into pieces and he wakes, eyes landing on her.

She doesn't sleep a wink, and he feels that it's partly because of him, the guilt gnaws at him each time he wakes up to see her sitting crisscross in the window seat, eyes turned towards the night sky that mask long gone in the quiet of the night.

She looks so much older and in the pale moonlight he can barely see a scar here or there, there's a thin one on her chin, another near her eye, her arms are bare and he can make out the ridges of longer scars marring the pale flesh.

Geez what did they do to her?

He wakes one last time before the sun rises, and it's thanks to the creepy cat, he stirs at feeling something solid on his ribcage and when his eyes open he chokes on a curse as three bright gold eyes stare at him from a black feline face, his voice invades his mind easily and he still gets the creeps from the thing.

_You already know this but I don't like you, but I trust you will not speak of what Cyrena told you unless she tells them herself or asks you to tell them. She's been through a lot and there's something about you that's somewhat similar, we don't want_ _ **your**_ _mask slipping do we?_ He swears that dumb cat is grinning at him as he hops nimbly off and makes his way back to Cyrena where he climbs up to curl around her neck.

Her eyes move away from the waning stars and towards him, he'll never get used to the colors, he blinks and she blinks back before she suddenly sticks her tongue out and pulls on her eyelid.

The mask is back on.

* * *

**(back to Cyrena, yay!)**

Hefting the bag out the trunk of her car she steps back in time to avoid having her toes crushed beneath the weight of the fertilizer, she wrinkles her nose as she gets a whiff of the scent and she stands on her tip toes to close the trunk.

_Something wicked this way comes_. Venus is very amused as a low chuckle comes from the direction of Toriel's yard, a moment later and Frisk is hanging around Cyrena's waist, a floppy sun hat nearly coming off their head as they flash the brightest of smiles up at her.

_**We came to help**_! Sans gives a tiny wave, ah so that's who Venus was talking about, she shoots the cat a dark look, "That's great Frisk! But are you sure you want to get all dirty? Gardening is messy work," she says adjusting the kid's hat as they nod excitedly, rushing off to join Bear who is digging a nice hole for one of the plants she bought.

"No Papyrus today?" Cyrena asks turning to the stocky skeleton who shrugs his shoulders, "nah he's out training with Undyne, didn't want this sack of lazy bones to tag along," she snorts and raises an eyebrow as she crosses her arms.

"Well you're still going to be put to work,"

"I'll just plant myself right here," Sans plops down on a lawn chair and grins smugly as she purses her lips and fights off a smile, amused but trying to act indifferent, "No you'll start by helping us plant an apple tree, up," She nudges his sneakered foot with her own bare one before she walks over to her two diggers.

"sure it's safe to walk around like that?" He's by her side without a sound but she feels the brief flash of magic and the hairs along the back of her neck stand on end as she exhales in slight surprise, "Dude you didn't tell me you could teleport,"

"didn't ask,"

"Can you teach me sometime?"

"sure?"

"Sweet, oh Frisk hun don't touch that those are hedge clippers they're sharp!" She snaps and the large tool floats quickly out of reach of the curious kid and quickly flies to Cyrena, landing easily in her empty hand she sighs and sets them onto her porch.

_**Oops sorry! Can you do more magic?** _

"Let's get this tree planted and I'll show you something awesome," Cyrena promises as she walks over to inspect the hole, ruffling Bear's dusty fur as the dog's tail thumps against the earth, "Ooo nice, you guys got the depth just right!" She smiles widely, pleased with their efforts as she turns to the sapling resting in it's bag beside it's new home.

She turns to Sans and gestures to the sapling, "Your turn to pitch in lazy bones," She says smiling widely, heh she'll get him to do some manual labor whether he wants to or not….her thoughts are cut short by the sight of the blue aura surrounding the sapling, no fair!

Cyrena stomps her foot as she watches the sapling float easily off the ground before being placed neatly in the hole, Frisk happily begins to pile the dirt back in without a comment, using their hands as much as possible as Cyrena narrows her eyes at the smug skeleton leaning against the porch.

"heh what? Think you could be the only lazy bones around here today?" His pupils flicker to the hedge clippers and she pouts crossing her arms, dang it he has her there, "Fair is fair I guess," She says turning to help Frisk.

Bear flops over in the dirt contently, "I love garden day," He says happily, front paws caked in mud.

_And I love bath day._ Venus comments watching in sheer delight as Bear's wagging tail goes still and the big canine whines, "I forgot bath day and garden day are the same day! Cyrena it's no fair!"

"It's fair when you dragged mud through the house on five different occasions, I told you that if you decide to dig you get a bath after, especially if you want inside," She points at him as Frisk grins and dusts off their hands, _**Done! Can we see more of your magic now please?**_

"Of course, here step back," Cyrena takes their dirty hand in hers and leads them back to where Sans is before letting go and walking back to the sapling, "Want an apple?"

Frisk and Sans exchange a look while Bear stands and trots over to their sides, "doesn't it take awhile for trees to grow?" Sans asks after a few beats, eyebrow raising (she still isn't sure how that works but magic is magic).

"I'm a witch, I get impatient," She says boldly as she touches a single leaf on the sapling, the touch sends a shiver through the plant and a vibrant rainbow sheen flickers over it's surface as the sound of wood creaking suddenly fills the air, leaves rustle loudly as the ground seems to groan in effort.

The sapling seems to explode, it shoots up like a weed, branches expanding as red apples spring forth out of thin air, all ripe and beautiful they gleam in the midday sun and Cyrena stands proudly in the shade, blowing on the tip of her index finger before doing jazz hands, "Ta-da, magic!"

Frisk claps and rushes forward to get an apple while Sans just stares, _**Wow can you do that with every plant?**_ Cyrena nods as she passes an apple to them and takes one for herself, "My Soul is flexible, if I study a type of magic and practice enough I can get it down pretty easily," She explains watching as their eyes seem to glitter in awe.

_**So that was like earth magic? Can you do fire?** _

"Somewhat,"

_**Water?** _

"That one was easy,"

_**Air?** _

"Ok you're just listing things off of Avatar aren't you? Yes, I can,"

_**You can move things, can you teleport?** _

"No, that's really really hard to do,"

_**Sans can do it. What else can you do?** _

"I'm working on galaxy magic right now, it's very tough but I've managed to get a star or two but they die off fast," Cyrena frowns, she'll get it down eventually, her grandmother is a master of space magic.

"wait, stars? You can make stars?"

_**Sans is a nerd for space.** _

"Oh yeah, the stars are great but like I said I can only manage to keep a star alive for a few minutes,"

"I want to see,"


	8. Uh Oh

Her fingertips buzz with energy and she waits patiently, willing up a mixture of hydrogen and helium, she draws her hand closer to herself when Frisk leans in a little too close to the growing white hot light in her palm, "It'll get too hot….stay back….both of you," She casts her glance to Sans who quickly leans back feigning innocence.

The three of them withdrew back to her living room when they both asked to see her make a star, outside she can hear the faint dribble of a storm brewing and she quietly hopes it won't get too bad, the bundle of hot gases in her hand flickers briefly and she focuses her attention back onto it.

The star bursts to life briefly, casting an array of bright white light over Frisk's and Sans' eager faces but it doesn't last, with a faint pop and a dying fizzle it fades away into nothing and she sighs heavily, "Sorry it didn't last long, it's hard to keep something like that around…"

_**It was amazing! There was a real star in your hand!**_ Frisk claps their hands before scooping up Venus to hug the feline giddily, laughing softly into the cat's fur as he begrudgingly let's the kid hold him.

Cyrena feels the brush of something solid and cool against her fingertips drawing her attention to the skeleton who is staring at her hand in awe, she swears there's tiny stars in his eye sockets, "wow…..that was incredible, I had no idea something like that was possible…."

"Magic," She wiggles her fingers making him move a step back with a chuckle, "heh yeah magic," he echoes as a faint dust of blue touches his cheekbones.

_**Awww there's so much rain.**_ Frisk peers out the window, Venus still in their arms, as a bolt of lightning spreads across the sky and touches earth somewhere outside, a crack of thunder follows and Cyrena rushes over to draw Frisk away from the glass.

"Don't stand near the windows," She warns holding onto their shoulders as she squints out at the gray sky, amazing how fast the weather changes, she purses her lips and looks to Sans, "Can you teleport back to Toriel's? She probably has dinner ready for you guys," She looks down at Frisk.

"can't,"

"What? Why?" Cyrena frowns as she gazes at the skeleton who has moved to her couch, making himself at home he even props his slippered feet up onto the coffee table which is covered in papers, "don't want to," Sans answers simply.

"Ugh Papyrus is right…..you are a lazy bones," She mumbles ruffling Frisk's mop of brown hair before moving to the kitchen, "Well since Sans is keeping you two here," Cyrena shoots a look towards the skeleton who ignores it, "I guess I have no choice but to attempt and cook for you,"

_**You said you can't cook….** _

"I can't, hope you guys like it,"

Frisk goes pale.

Cyrena's idea of cooking is frozen meals much to Frisk and Sans relief, they both dealt with Papyrus' cooking long enough to know how to fake enjoying a bad meal but they'd hate to put on a show for their new friend, luckily it was a simple frozen pizza the witch presented to them around an hour later.

"I'm surprised Tori hasn't called," Cyrena peeks at her cell as she bites into a slice of pizza, ignoring Venus' wandering paws slowly creeping up to try and snatch some pizza from her hand.

"we told her we'd be coming over here, she probably hasn't called since she knows we're all safe here," Sans explains, his plate empty, Frisk is on their second slice and they're casually sneaking bites to Bear who Cyrena brought in from the garage after wiping his paws down, _**Yeah, Mom likes you a lot!**_

She laughs softly and smiles at them, taking another slice of pizza from the pie they lapse into easy conversation as the storm outside rages on, rain pelting her small home as lightning flashes and thunder rumbles.

The storm lasts for hours and lapses into the night, Frisk is curled up on the couch under a armful of spare blankets Cyrena scraped together, their cheek rests against the edge of Sans leg and Cyrena idly wonders how it's even comfortable.

She stands off in her small dining room, table still covered in papers and books she balances a mug of hot chocolate atop one of the tiny towers as she watches the cold drops of rain streak down the fogging glass, releasing another puff of warm air she lets her breath fog the window some more before she idly draws a flower onto the surface.

Beyond the haze of rain and the breath of fog she sees something move in the shadows of the night, a shiver works up her spine as goose bumps spread over her arms making all the tiny hairs stand on end, inhaling a breath she waits and watches.

Another tiny movement and she whispers a spell beneath her breath, pupils dilating to thin slits as magic dances over her irises and the darkness eases to gray, allowing her to see the handful of men moving in the small grove of trees beyond her backyard.

Her heightened eyesight allows her to see the logo on their black jumpsuits, her blood runs cold as she steps back away from the glass, hand bumping against table she barely reacts when the mug clatters to the floor shattering into pieces.

They've found her, Frisk and Sans are in danger, Tori too.

Whirling around she bites back a scream as she runs straight into Sans, blinking away the spell she grasps at his hoody, "They're here, where's Frisk?!" She rushes past the skeleton and moves to the couch, shaking Frisk awake just as someone knocks at the door.

"Shhhh.." Holding a finger to her lips she looks between Sans and Frisk, motioning for them to move to the stairs, there's a brief knock and then the door crashes inward, hinges coming undone as a body of men move into the living room.

Panic fills her as she watches the uniformed men all look to her, the coldness in her chest spreads to her limbs and somewhere in her mind there's a voice urging her to run, to hide, to fight but her legs refuse to work.

A hand grasps her arm and she feels magic brush over her skin, an emptiness swells up around her as the sensation of falling fills her, one second she's surrounded by…nothing, and the next she's sitting in the middle of Toriel's living room, Sans' voice trying to reach her through the fog surrounding her mind as Frisk rushes into their goat-mom's arms.

"Cyrena, Cyrena! Who were they?"

"B-bad…..bad men, they're from…" Her voice sounds faraway and she tries to quell the fear lodged in her chest, Sans doesn't make her finish, he's carefully helping her to her feet and she feels a familiar tail brush over her cheek, Venus made it too….

"Bear-"

"ran off, I saw him slip out just before I teleported us," Sans voice is even but there's something in his tone that makes those tiny hairs on her arms stand on end again, she meets his eye sockets but doesn't spy the familiar white orbs there.

"Cyrena…..they're after you aren't they?"

She nods quietly as she wraps her arms protectively around herself, "I'm sorry…..I didn't think…."

"where can we take you? Is there a safe place you can go?"

Why is he still acting so nice to her? Her secrets, her past, is coming back and his friends are in danger of becoming involved, why doesn't he just kick her to the curb? That'd be safest.

"I-I don't….they probably have eyes on my parent's home," She swallows the burning lump in her throat, Tori isn't saying anything either, why won't they just get her out of here? They'd be safer if she wasn't around them.

"you can stay with Paps and I, Tori I'm going to get her out of here I'll come back once she's safe," Sans meets Toriel's gaze and she nods firmly, holding Frisk close as the kid watches Cyrena worriedly.

"Sans you don't-"

"Ready?" His boney hand grasps hers and he squeezes it, she has to tilt her head slightly to meet his eye sockets dead on, she forgot he's a tad taller than her, "Yes…."

"good, once this all settles we're going to talk,"

Somehow that scares her more than the men searching her house.


	9. Charmed

Cyrena just knew that they wouldn't get far…..the men who are after her have been searching for years to track her down and now that they caught a glimpse of her they were going to do everything in their power to get her back…..a sharp abrupt knock at the front door makes everyone twitch in surprise.

 

Toriel holds a finger to her lips and quickly ushers them into hiding, Frisk remains by their mother's side and they flash her a quick nervous smile, eyes full of determination as Tori closes the door to their hiding place, a small coat closet.

 

She stumbles back half a step as she tries to avoid standing on any spare shoes at the bottom of the closet, holding her breath she listens anxiously as the front door clicks open and Tori's muffled voice barely reaches her ears, the front door is close enough for her to hear their conversation but she feels panic swelling slowly to the forefront of her mind as the dark cramped space brings back awful memories.

 

She tries to remain calm as she closes her eyes, focusing on keeping her breathing even and low, heart beat drumming steadily in her ears she clenches her hands into fists as she wills herself to stay as still as possible, afraid that even the slightest movement might cause her to brush against something and send her into a panic.

 

The people who took her had been trying to see what barriers her magic possessed, what brought it out and made it stronger, what made it weaker, one thing they tried was isolation.

 

The room was small, colorless, all tile and cold as ice, they'd lock her in there for days at a time, barely allowing her the opportunity to eat, everytime they'd open the hatch a smidge she'd huddle as close as possible to the small square of pale light, she'd hold her hand out in the beam, watching her trembling pale fingers as they come back into view and she'd have brief relief at seeing something other than darkness.

 

Cyrena is ripped away from that awful place abruptly by Sans' finger bones slowly threading through her clenched ones, she forgot he's in here too……his skull is barely visible in the dull darkness and his white pinpricks roam over her face quietly as he gently squeezes her hand.

 

She opens her mouth slightly to assure him she's fine when the door is suddenly ripped open and she squints against the sudden glare of the light, everything happens so fast, one minute they're standing their dumbfounded and the next there's a gloved hand yanking her forward by her hair.

 

There's so many men, the smell of smoke and burnt clothing assaults her nostrils as flashes of fireballs hit a few of them, knocking them down or into walls, Toriel is on the other end of the magic, eyes narrowed and teeth bared in anger as she shields Frisk from harm.

 

The man who grabbed her shouts in pain as Venus sinks his teeth into his arm, the feline was now the size of a jaguar and he clings to the attacker with an angry constant growling.

 

Stumbling away from the fight she narrowly avoids the crackling end of a stun baton, they're not using guns…..they want her back alive, the man who almost got her suddenly flies backwards and hits a wall before slumping to the ground, she gasps for breath as a sudden intense magical aura swamps Toriel's, it fogs the air like an invisible plague and all her hair stands on end as she feels the air buzz with energy.

 

One second the men are scrambling and swarming to stop Toriel's attacks and put out fires, the next they're all plastered to the floor, laying flat on their faces as the invisible energy holds them down, she looks out at them with wide eyes, all their Souls are engulfed in brilliant blue magic, the source being the grinning skeleton standing near the closet, hand outstretched and one eye blazing.

 

"you guys really shouldn't lie down on the job," Various pained grunts come from a few of the men as the pressure is increased and in some spots the floor creaks and groans from the force, "do you want to have a bad time?"

 

"Sans……that's enough," Toriel frowns, holding Frisk close as she looks out at the strangers being held captive in their home, "If I see any of you near my home again I will let my friend finish you off," Cyrena looks between her new friends in stunned silence, these versions of them are terrifying……their Souls are brilliant harsh beacons, pulsing steadily as they look over the men they're sparing…..they can kill them all so easily, yet here they are, sparing them.

 

Sans doesn't even bat an eye as he snaps his fingers, the energy in the room draws tight then dissipates as all their attackers vanish without a sound.

 

 ** _Cyrena!_** Frisk rushes forward, free from Toriel's hold, to crash against her, wrapping their tiny arms around her they hold her as she shakes violently, silent as she slowly returns the child's embrace.

 

Toriel exchanges a glance with Sans, both monsters grimly silent as they wait.

 

* * *

 

 

"you can stay here, it's not huge but it's your own room until we can figure out how to keep those assholes away," Sans steps back out of the doorway to let Cyrena step into the tidy guest room, her rainbow gaze trails over the mismatch furniture and any other time she would've laughed at the fact that every piece is a different color of the rainbow, but she can't find that piece of her, she's shut down against her own will.

 

Silently she moves into the room to sit on the bed, hands folded in her lap as she looks at the quilt beneath her, the bed dips slightly as Sans sits beside her quietly.

 

She twitches when his leg presses against the side of hers but she doesn't say a word or move, instead she stares off at the wall as her mind tries to process the rapid events of the night before.

 

Neither of them speak, and she's not sure how long they sit there before the tears finally come, she doesn't fight them and let's them fall silently as she chokes back sobs and a gentle hand touches her shoulder, bringing her face to rest against the skeleton's side.

 

Slowly she leans more into him, face burying against the warm fabric of his hoody as she cries and he keeps his arm wrapped around her shoulders until her tears slow and she goes quiet once again, "I'm sorry," Sans voice is low and soft, barely recognizable as she sniffs softly in response.  

 

"I couldn't just standby and let them treat you like that….." He's apologizing for fighting back? She frowns and leans back, face red and splotchy from crying she fixes her gaze on his and scowls.

 

"You shouldn't be apologizing, not for protecting them, me, if you think I'm scared of you I'm not," She wipes at her damp eyes and inhales a shaky breath, "I tried to keep them at bay, but the logos on their uniforms……I was only there for a year but it was a long enough time….." Her voice catches in her throat and she clears it to continue, "I want to talk about it all someday…….I need to tell someone what happened, what I saw and what they did….but it hurts to remember," She clenches her hands and swallows the lump in her throat.

 

"you don't have to tell me anything……just, know that we won't let them take you again, Paps and me, we're here for ya," Sans usual smile slowly eases back onto his skull, but his mask was slipping and she catches a glimpse of vulnerability, understanding, and she feels that maybe he's been in a situation like this……

 

"Thank you," Cyrena says softly, returning his smile with a small one of her own.

 

"BROTHER! FRIEND ARE YOU HOME?!"

 

"yeah bro just showing her the room," Sans stands and walks to the doorway as Papyrus rushes down the hall and into the room excitedly, "Hi Pap," Cyrena greets softly as he beams at her.

 

"HAVE YOU HAD A TOUR OF OUR WONDERFUL HOME?!"

 

"Not yet," She confesses as the taller skeleton takes her hand and pulls her to her feet, "THEN I WILL SHOW YOU ALL OUR WONDERFUL ROOMS AND THINGS!"

 

"That sounds wonderful, thank you," She smiles and lets him lead the way, feeling a bit of tension leave her as she's shown around the skeleton brothers' home, her temporary home, Papyrus tells her which things they brought back from Snowdin and which things are brand new, he's extremely proud about the kitchen because he's made so many wonderful creations there.

 

Night falls quickly and the brothers go to Papyrus' room for stories, leaving Cyrena downstairs to her own devices, she walks around the living room eyeing the walls with a gentle frown, a piece of chalk in her hand.

 

 _You should ask before placing charms on someone's home_ , Venus grooms his forehead, the feline lounging lazily on the couch as he keeps one eye on her.

 

"They're just protection charms…." She crouches down beside a plastic potted plant, the fake rocks on the inside are damp, Sans probably told Papyrus it's a real plant……she smiles and rolls her eyes as she draws the rune onto the wall behind the plant before moving on.

 

By the time she's finished Sans is done reading and moves down the stairs, dragging his slippered feet, he plops down on the sofa and nearly sits on Venus' tail much to the cat's annoyance.

 

"wanna have a movie marathon?"

 

"Sure, but I'm not making the popcorn,"

 

Sans snores in response, head slumped back against the couch, Cyrena shakes her head and sighs as she picks up Venus and heads for the stairs, flipping off the living room lights she makes her way to the guest room.

 

She closes the door behind her and sits at the small desk against one wall, pulling some thick thread from her pocket she gets to work weaving the colored yarn into a bracelet, who needs sleep anyways?  

 

She stays up most of the night making charms ranging from bracelets to rings and necklaces, fingers working rapidly at the various colors of yarn as she ties beads and small colored feathers on.

 

Sans finds her the next morning a sleep at the desk, he goes to close the door and let her continue sleeping but one of the charms catches his attention and he quietly creeps over to get a closer look.

 

The bracelet is neatly woven, the three different variations of blue mingling together and there's a few black beads thrown in as well, he looks to the sleeping witch curiously as he picks it up, he nearly drops it when it hums faintly with magic energy.

 

Shrugging he slips it on carefully, it's a little snug but he's thankful for that, he loses things way too often as it is, and the magic trapped in the fibers of the bracelet has a hint of Cyrena to it, he'd hate to lose it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to add this! 
> 
> Cyrena will change her hair color to help hide herself in the next chapter, which color do you guys think is best? :)
> 
> •Black  
> •Blonde  
> •Brown  
> •Red  
> •Your choice! 
> 
> Leave a comment with what color you think is best and why! :D 
> 
> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Feel free to leave color or hairbrush style suggestions


	10. Dark Locks and a darker past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *warning there will be blood*

She shouldn't have been surprised to find one of the bracelets missing when she woke the next morning, she figured one of the brothers would've came to check on her at some time, the thing that did surprise her was the sticky note stuck to her forehead.

 

Cyrena carefully peels it off, the sticky side having lost most of it's stickiness it came off pretty easy and she looks at the short note lazily scribbled on the paper, 'Cy, we're at work cya later'

 

"Maybe I should get a job…." She smiles at the note and sets it aside then frowns, she really should get a job, the brothers are letting her stay under their roof so the least she can do is give them some sort of pay right?

 

_You've never had a steady job, the last job you had you got fired from cause a bunch of stray cats kept getting into the store and sitting around._ Venus speaks up from his spot on her bed, the feline has all his limbs tucked under his body and looks more like a bread loaf than a cat.

 

"I didn't have a good hold on my magic at the time," Cyrena argues with a frown as she stands and pauses, oh crud she didn't bring any clothes….."I need to go back home," She mumbles moving to the door.

 

_And get captured?! Stay here, one of the skeletons can go back or Toriel can retrieve your clothes for you._

 

"And be even more of a burden on them? I can sneak into my house just fine, if you're so worried you can come with me," She offers fetching her tennis shoes she sits on the carpet as she pulls them on and laces them up, ignoring the glare pinned to her back, "If it makes you feel better I'm going to take some precautions,"

 

_Precautions?_

 

"I'm going to change my hair," Cyrena answers standing and moving down the hall to the bathroom, the house feels far too quiet and empty and she glances over her shoulder a couple times before she directs her attention to the mirror, her reflection stares back at her, her mess of locks a tangled mess around her face and she scrunches up her nose at the sight.

 

Holding her hand up she summons a hair brush and gets to work on the knots, gritting her teeth against the pulling at her scalp as she tries to make quick work of the mess, mumbling under her breath she finishes quickly and sets her brush aside, wishing that she could summon all of her items so she wouldn't have to go back…..

 

Blowing out a breath she fixes her gaze on her reflection and stares intently, "I can do this…." She breathes raising her hands up to her scalp she presses her fingertips to the top of her scalp, they buzz with energy and she closes her eyes as she drags her fingers down through the frizzy locks, a cooling sensation spreads over her head as the magic seeps into the strands.

 

She pauses once her fingers make their way all the way through her hair and the cooling sensation fades, opening her eyes she stares at the mirror and frowns slightly, she decided to go with black, it doesn't look terrible but the effects of her Soul shine through more than before, looking more solid than before.

 

Maybe she should cut it too?

 

"Enough stalling……I should go," She tells herself fiercely as she reaches into her pocket for a hair tie, bundling up her frizzy mane into a low ponytail she makes her way out of the bathroom and looks towards the guest room to see if Venus is waiting to join her…..but the cat is no where to be seen and she digs her teeth into her bottom lip as she turns away from the hall and makes her way down the stairs.

 

She can be alone for this, it's probably for the best, she needs to get over her fears.

 

Cyrena is almost done, she's made it through her house and has packed a lot her vital items into her endless bag…..she just needs to get back to the window where she got in.

 

Below she can hear a few eerie unfamiliar voices drifting up the stairs, her ears strain to keep tabs on them as she quickly tip toes across the wooden floors towards the one guest room, the window's hatch there has been broken for along time and she's always sworn to fix it but now she's grateful she hasn't.

 

Easing the bag out of the window she flinches when it hits the ground instead of the bushes below, the soft 'thud' from the impact makes the hair on the back of her neck prickle, she waits a second and holds her breath as she listens intently for the voices to pick up in volume or for the sound of footsteps on the stairs but it's still silent.

 

Cyrena eases her leg up through the window and ducks her head, she's halfway through the window when a clawed hand suddenly buries into her hair, yanking her back she bites on her tongue to hold back a shout of pain, the iron taste of blood fills her mouth and she stumbles as her attacker pulls her away from the window.

 

"I knew you'd come back," Another hand curls under her chin, sharp claws pricking the soft skin there as they turn her face up to meet theirs, ice rushes through her veins and she feels all color drain from her face as she meets very familiar yellow orbs.

 

The reason why Cyrena is never thrown off by the sight of monsters is because humans tried to make their own…….the distorted human-like face is covered in harsh black hairs and the short muzzle is a twisted mess of flesh and teeth, he grins wickedly down at her, short sharp ears that stick out from the side of his head twitch as he sees the realization upon her face.

 

"So you remember huh? Good, it'll make taking you back so much sweeter, you should've known you can't trust anyone in that hell hole," He growls low, words warbling between grunts and snarls it's nearly impossible to understand him.

 

"O-Owen…….why?" Cyrena speaks past the firm lump in her throat, trying to calm her pulse as she reaches back to grasp at the hand still buried in her hair.

 

"You LEFT me, you freed yourself and left me to ROT!" His voice rises in pitch and he yanks her back sharply, she feels a few bones in her spine ache as he tosses her clear across the room, the breath is knocked clean from her lungs as her side collides roughly with the wall and a framed painting, the glass shatters on impact and she feels the shards slice through the thin cotton shirt and into her flesh.

 

She hits the floor with a pained groan, the back of her head burning from where some hair was ripped free, she hears his feet against the wood and keeps her face to the floor, pulse racing rapidly as her side screams and she feels the sticky hotness of her blood dripping from a few deep slashes running along the side of her ribs.

 

Her Soul burns hotly as she clenches her hands into fists, magic energy bubbling beneath her skin as that clawed hand comes back to her scalp, he doesn't get the chance to take another fistful of her hair, her hand whips out and grabs hold of his ankle.

 

He screams in surprise and pain, taking a stumbling step back and she lurches upward, releasing his ankle to thrust her hand forward, grabbing at his distorted face she digs her fingertips into his flesh as he reaches up to try and rip her burning palm from his face.

 

But she hangs on despite the claws ripping at her flesh, gritting her teeth she shoves him back, keeping her hand flush against his face as he stumbles and falls to the floor, his screams are muffled by her rage and she hangs on as her heart pounds wildly in her chest.

 

She can't let go, part of her is terrified his pained cries will draw the others out, while the bigger louder part of her, the part she's hidden for so long, wants to burn the smug crooked smile off his face.

 

And it wins out, his cries die down and his hands go slack, fingertips slick with her blood they fall to the floor and she removes her hand from his face, not sparing his burnt flesh a second glance she darts for the window and nearly throws herself out, clutching at the vines hugging the side of her house she descends quickly as bile rises in her throat and her stomach twists painfully.

 

Owen is dead.

 

Cyrena's hands shake wildly as she picks up her bag and runs, he was one of the fellow 'residents' at the facility and at the time she believed he was her friend, that was until he gave up her plans to escape.

 

She was too scared to tell Sans that she spent more than a year at that place…….her family already sees her as damaged, she doesn't need her new friends looking at her with that same pitied expression.  

 

She doesn't want to see the feared looks either, she's seen far too many of those, and she's sick of it.

 

* * *

 

 

Cyrena is still shaking when she passes through the front door of the skeleton's home, she hugs her bag close to herself as she leans against the wood, gasping for breath as she fights the urge to slide down the wood and slump to the floor.

 

She's still bleeding, pushing off the door she stumbles through the living room and into the kitchen, dropping the bag to the floor she turns on the sink as she rips her shirt off, or attempts to, part of it snags on something that sends fire hot pain through her stomach and she cries out as she pitches forward to rest against the countertop.

 

Stained fingers move to her side where a large shard of glass protrudes from angry red skin, wincing she eases the shirt up and over her head at a slower rate, wadding the ruined fabric up she shoves the clean side into her mouth as she pours a mess of soap over her hands, she scrubs her shaking hands raw before looking to the glass.

 

This is going to hurt like hell.

 

She searches the cabinets for a wash cloth, wrapping it around the end of the shard she grasps at it firmly and digs her teeth into her shirt as more blood oozes from the wound, she's about to rip it out like how you rip off a band aid when the front door bangs open.

 

It cracks against the wall with so much force the house shakes briefly and the door groans on it's hinges, fear rushes through her as she stares at the skeleton standing in the doorway, she's already pale from blood loss but she feels as though the last bit of color drains away as he fixes those pitch black eye sockets on her.

 

Oh shit.

 

_Oh heavens, CYRENA._ Venus leaps down from Sans' shoulders and rushes towards her, she's never seen the cat so afraid and helpless, he looks over her anxiously _, I told you not to go!_

 

Sans doesn't utter a word, she barely saw him teleport, hardly felt the brief static of his magic, she can feel the adrenaline fading fast and all she wants to do is cry and confess all her wrong doings to the silent monster staring at the glass sticking out from her side.

 

Her shirt is still stuffed in her mouth and she's too afraid to remove it, instead she waits till his eye sockets meet her gaze and she gives a small nod, letting his boney hand replace hers on the wash cloth she braces herself against the countertop just in time.

 

He's quick about it, and the pain is immediate and fresh, she nearly crumples to the floor, sweat matting the dark strands of hair to forehead as her legs quake and she lets out a shuddering breath through her nose.

 

The wash cloth is pressed to the open slash now and the shirt is tugged from the death grip of her teeth, he still won't speak to her and instead slowly moves her to a chair, he turns to Venus as the cat nudges her bag over.

 

_She should have potions inside._

 

"I'm sorry….." Her voice is hoarse and she can barely hear herself, throat raw with remorse and pain the tears she fought to keep at bay now slide down her cheeks and she turns her face away.

 

"you should've let me go," he rummages in her bag with his free hand, his other still holding the cloth in place he pulls a small glass bottle from the depths of her bag and grasps the small cork in his teeth, any other time Cyrena would've been mesmerized by the sharp canines in his mouth, but her mind is foggy and she's slowly welcoming the embrace of darkness.

 

"please stay awake, I don't know how much blood you lost….." The lip of the glass is pressed to her mouth and she drinks a few sips of the potion before turning her head away, she's so tired….

 

"Not enough to kill me…….just tired," She explains as her eyelids slide close and the cool brush of sleep engulfs her, she welcomes it eagerly.

 

She probably slept for awhile but when her eyes open again she feels as though she barely got a wink of sleep, her eyes feel swollen and ache dully as she looks around the living room, she feels a brush of panic for a split second but then the familiar weight of Venus draped over her legs reaches her tired brain and she relaxes.

 

A cool wash cloth slides off her forehead as she slowly sits up, the sharp aches and pains have dulled down considerably and she makes to get off the couch, the urge to cut off her hair is strong.

 

"you should sleep some more," Sans is there in an instant, pupils there but faint……"but first you should tell me why you had the sudden stupid urge to go back there,"

 

"I needed my things, I was doing fine till-" Her voice catches in her throat and she moves her arms to wrap around herself, her fingers moving over unfamiliar fabric she pauses briefly when she realizes Sans put his hoody on her, she feels a flush of embarrassment but ignores it.

 

"someone found you and attacked you," he finishes as he moves to sit on the couch, she pulls her legs in and sits crisscross, Venus makes a small sound annoyed sound and moves to the back of the couch to sleep instead, leaving a gap between them that Sans quickly disposes of.

He doesn't seem keen on giving her any space and a big part of her is thankful for it, when she used to get frightened she was always alone…..left behind to deal with her fears and panic attacks, for most they don't want any human connection when a panic attack hits but she's dealt with a lot of things alone……and she finds that having someone with her diminishes a lot of her fear.

 

"I-I killed him…"

 

 

 


	11. Family Bonds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crud I'm terribly sorry it's taken me so long to get the next chapter out, I've had a lot of trouble writing it and I'm still a bit unsure about it. I hope everyone enjoys it! I might post another chapter today if you guys want :D

Her Soul burns like a hot coal trapped beneath her ribcage, she knows about exp and about LOVE, her family always warned her to never harm another creature or being no matter how small because if they die from the wounds she inflicted she'd gain exp from them and her LV would increase. Those with high LOVE are dangerous, killers, ones who don't care how many things or people they have to cut down to get stronger.

 

She has a feeling Sans knew she killed him even before she admitted it, because he's silent, keeping her gaze down her Soul pulses rapidly within her chest and she tries to ignore it, this is her own fault, whatever is going on with her Soul is because of her actions.

 

His boney hand moves over hers, cutting off her view she cautiously looks to the skeleton and holds her breath, dull irises peer back at her and his smile stretches slightly over his skull as he squeezes her hands, "its ok,"

 

The tears return full force again and she throws herself against him, sobbing into his shirt, her Soul still aching like a deep wound as he curls his arms around her, holding onto her as his pupils vanish and be bows his skull, resting it against her shoulder as he curls his digits into his hoody that she's still wearing.

 

Her LOVE is at five…….and he has to fight back all those blasted memories of the kid grinning manically as they wielded a knife to cut down his brother….his friends….Cyrena didn't kill on purpose, she's not like Frisk….like Chara, who he learned about later after Frisk finally confessed everything, about why they did the things they did.

 

Sans still isn't sure he's completely ok with the kid, but he's forgiven them for most of it …..and he can forgive her, judging by how sickly her Soul looks she would've been the one dead if she hadn't of acted….

 

Cyrena winces in his arms and he realizes he's squeezing her too hard and quickly releases her, her pale face is splotchy from crying and the whites of her eyes are an irritated red, she sniffs softly and hiccups slightly, "We can't tell Papyrus,"

 

Sans nods in firm agreement, "we don't have to talk 'bout it anymore either, you gonna be ok?"

 

"Eventually,"

 

He nods and looks away from her, rubbing at the back of his neck as he blows out a sigh through his teeth, "how 'bout I make you something to eat, won't be as good as anything Tori or Paps can make but it'll help your Soul perk up,"

 

She nods quietly and watches as the skeleton stands and moves to the kitchen, signature grin back on his skull she waits till she hears the clattering of dishes before she extends her hand out, palm raised as a swirl of energy forms, hundreds of tiny stars twinkling in the dark tiny vast of space hovering in her hand.

 

They'll try harder to find her now, she's gained more power, and they'll want to get to her while her Soul is weak and adjusting to the new magic, they need her power for themselves and she lets the magic fade before wrapping her arms securely around herself.

 

Venus winds himself around her neck, standing steadily on her shoulders as he bumps his head against her cheek, _I don't like that look on your face, what're you planning?_

 

"You say that about nearly every face I make," She teases lightly, briefly smiling as she arches an eyebrow at the feline who's eyes narrow and he snorts.

 

_That's because you humans always have dumb ideas._

 

"I need to call Mom and Dad,"

 

_Ok for once I completely agree with you._

 

She smirks and stands, heading for the stairs she glances towards the kitchen before heading up, body still sore she ignores the aches as she steps into the guest room to retrieve her phone.

 

_You're not going to tell them you nearly died…..right? Cause then we'd both be in big trouble, I'm supposed to protect you and you're not supposed to make stupid decisions._

 

"Oh hush, I'm just letting them know we're ok, I also want to see if Bear managed to make his way to them. Plus they might know more about these guys than I do, I didn't keep tabs on the facility once I got out so I'm not sure if they've gotten worse….or better, at tracking witches…." Her voice trails off as she finds her mother's name on her contacts.

 

It rings once before someone picks it up, "WHY THE HELL HAVEN'T YOU CALLED SOONER?!"

 

"It's nice to hear your voice too Mom, you guys aren't having too many problems with those guys are you?" She flinches, ears briefly ringing from the older woman's shouting.

 

"We told them we don't have a clue about where you'd hide if you were in trouble, and we don’t! Please tell me you're safe, or better yet tell me the address you're staying at so your father and I can come and get you,"

 

Cyrena sighs, she knew this would be coming up, "Mom you know they'd be keeping an eye on the house to see if I'd come to you guys…."

 

"I don't care, they don't have probable cause to take you back, so they can't lay a finger on us," She hears a few voices in the background and she rolls her eyes as her mother shouts in surprise, "Hey-!"

 

"Oh gosh you are ok!"

 

"Hey Dad, can you please tell Mom it's a bad idea for me to come to the house, she never listens to me," Cyrena is smiling widely as her mom shouts something in response, her dad chuckles over the phone before responding.

 

"You know she doesn't listen to me either sweet pea and honestly I wouldn't even bother arguing with her because I agree, you need to come home," His tone drops and she knows he's doing his signature scowl mixed with a pout, he does a good job at looking stern yet begging at the same time.

 

"If you two won't listen then I'll just have Gran tell you it's a bad idea!"

 

"Honey we really miss you, and not knowing how you're doing is making us all worry even more," Her dad must've put her on speaker phone because her Grandmother's soft voice makes it through and she feels her throat tighten slightly, she nearly sounds on the verge of tears…..

 

"I'm sorry, I know I should've called sooner, I'm so sorry you guys worried so much about me," She settles on the edge of the bed, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth with guilt.

 

"oh there you are, made ya a hot dog," Sans pokes his head into the room, holding up the plate and raising his nonexistent eyebrows, she feels the brief zap of magic in the room and then her phone is replaced with the hot dog.

 

"SANS!" She shouts lunging to her feet as the skeleton holds the phone to the side of his skull looking rather smug as she drops the plate onto her bed and rushes towards him.

 

"heya I'm sans, sans the skeleton, who's this?" he nimbly dodges her first attempt to grab at her phone, for a big-boned guy he sure moves fast.

 

"oh really? Well nice to meet ya, for a while I was worried she'd forgotten she's got an actual family waiting for her, nah she's safe but a couple guys tried to rough her up a bit so she's staying with us,"

 

"Sans give me my phone back!" She tries to summon it back to her, fingers tingling with magic but it dies off quickly because the skeleton teleports her, dropping her onto the bed on her stomach, eyes wide she goes to sit up but then the skeleton teleports himself and he sits atop her.

 

"Oh my gosh get off!" she cries annoyed, kicking her legs and grunting at the weight of his bones on her spine.

 

"sure we can drive her, oh yeah that's not too far, we'll be there later," He hangs up and drops the phone onto the mattress beside her, not moving from his spot, "your folks are nice,"

 

"You dumb bone-head! Get your fat ass off me!"

 

"can't do that _sweet pea,_ I don't have an ass, or fat, just big boned remember?"

 

"I can't believe you agreed with them, didn't you agree with me that it'd be dangerous for me to go back home? Why did you change your mind?" Cyrena gives up fighting and lays there in defeat, thankful the mattress is soft enough to provide some comfort despite the fact she's being squished.

 

"you ain't staying there just visiting, they sounded really worried and you seem homesick, plus Paps has been wanting to become friends with more witches so he can brag about it to Undyne that he knows more magic humans than her,"

 

"Fiiiine! We'll go, but just you and Paps first…..I'd like them to meet all of you guys but the house is strange and doesn't like a lot of new people coming and going, plus I don't think it's ever met monsters before," Cyrena sighs

 

"wait…..you said you're not sure if the _house_ will like us?"

 

"Well yeah, it's a house that's been passed down through generations of our family, it's been exposed to hundreds of different witches and wizards, their magic has settled into the foundation," she explains proudly, smiling slightly.

 

"well this I definitely want to see,"

 

"Guess now we just need Papyrus and we'll be good to go,"

* * *

 

 

Cyrena isn't sure what's making her more nauseous, Papyrus' driving or the fact that she's going to show up at her home with monsters.

 

Her family isn't bias at all, they trust and love anyone that Cyrena does, but she knows how her Gramps is, he loves to tell old war stories he's heard or read about and she's afraid it might strike a chord in her new monster friends and make things awkward….

 

"oh sweet, GPS says its down this street," She looks up from her lap where Venus sleeps soundly, finally looking out the window at the streets, it's been a couple years since she's been back and despite the approaching nightfall she feels a sense of nostalgia as her old street rolls into view.

 

Ever sense the accident she's barely seen her family….only being briefly reunited after her capture she didn't stick around long, still filled with guilt about her sister she asked for a safe place to stay…..and her family loved her too much to argue so they set up a safe house for her to live in, occasionally she'd call but they became less and less frequent as she fell into the habit of living alone with just Venus and Bear.

 

She nearly stops breathing when the old home comes into view, it used to be painted a simple eggshell white but it seems that the color must've faded at some point because her parents painted it a dusky soft blue, keeping the shutters and front door a brilliant white she can't fight the smile as Papyrus pulls his nice flashy red car up to the curb alongside the fish mailbox her Gramps built.

 

Not waiting for the brothers she climbs out of the car holding on to Venus as she approaches the porch, eyes wide as the front door swings open and Bear comes barreling out of the house, he tackles them to the ground and Venus hisses loudly in surprise and irritation as the dog lathers Cyrena's cheeks in drool.

 

"You're safe, you're safe! I was so worried I couldn't find you! I came back here and waited!" He barks, tail a black blur as he whines with happiness, she laughs and hugs the dog close as she curls her fingers into his cool fur.

 

"It's true, he'd wait at the windows each morning to see if you'd be walking up the sidewalk," She looks up and feels the tears in her eyes as she meets the kind dark green eyes of her mother, her light brown hair has a few silver streaks in it but there's barely a wrinkle to her kind face, she smiles widely as Cyrena stands and rushes to her, hugging her tightly.

 

"Mom, I'm so-"

 

"Don't, I've heard you apologize far too many times in my life, I'm just glad you decided to come visit," Her hands drift over Cyrena's hair and she holds onto her firmly as if she might slip away again.

 

"You keep getting smaller," She breaks the hug to roll her eyes as her dad strides forward and eagerly scoops her up, squeezing the breath out of her as he laughs at her squeaky gasp, he's still as tall and strong as ever, where her mother is soft and kind her father has always been more stern yet joking.

 

Her family jokes that he could just shape shift to a bear and still be perfectly at home, his hair is a light sandy color and his beard is the same shade save for a few dark patches, bright blue eyes peer down at her as he finally sets her down to ruffle her mess of hair.

 

"You changed your hair too, ever think of going blonde?" he teases as Cyrena pushes his hand away to scowl, "Dad I'm not a kid!" She complains trying to fix her hair back.

 

Around her parents she spots her grandparents, her Gran waves a wrinkled hand at her as she flashes a bright smile while her Gramps is peering past her in pure wonder as he adjusts his wire framed glasses, "Seems ya had a few skeletons follow you home, I do hope you intend on introducing us,"

 

"O-oh, yes, this is Sans and Papyrus, they're the guys who helped me out…..they're letting me stay at their place until the men leave," Cyrena turns to the skeleton brothers who were watching the scene silently by the car.

 

"HELLO IT IS SO NICE TO MEET YOU ALL! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" She flinches a bit and looks to her family, anxious they may find the tall lanky skeleton a bit too much, but her father beams brightly and holds out his hand, breaking the ice quickly and easily.

"Nice to meet you too! Come inside please and we'll have a proper sit down and get to know each other," He grasps Papyrus' gloved hand firmly and gives it a shake before patting his armor and gesturing to the front door.

 

"WOWIE YOUR HOUSE IS VERY NICE,"

 

"Thank you, I picked out the color," Gran says proudly as she steps inside ahead of him to show him where to sit, Gramps grunts and follows, "Did not, I helped,"

 

"And you're Sans?" Her mother smiles at the shorter skeleton as he shrugs his shoulders, same grin in place as he nods his skull, "that's what everyone calls me,"

 

"Thank you for protecting my daughter,"

 

Cyrena fights back her embarrassment and it seems her mother's words caught him off guard too cause his smile falters briefly as he chuckles, "oh uh….welcome….she's a good friend so we couldn't just sit back and let that stuff happen,"

 

"I really am thankful, please come in, we're just starting on dinner, oh and you can call me Abby, my husband is Richard and my parents are just Gran and Gramps," She smiles widely and leads them inside where everyone is waiting patiently.

 

Her dad already has the picture album out…."And here she is on her first birthday! She'd levitate the cake and throw it everywhere, we kept finding chocolate in the strangest places for weeks,"

 

She mentally face palms, thankful her dad skipped out on all the bathtub pictures as Papyrus leans over his shoulder eagerly, Gran catches her attention and the old woman gestures for her to follow as she moves to the kitchen.

 

Cyrena trails after her and pauses when she realizes that she's walked directly into a trap, her mom and grandmother are both facing her, two sets of green eyes narrowed as she stands stock still at the edge of the kitchen like a deer caught in headlights.

 

"Oh come on you guys don't really think-!" Her mom cuts her off with a single raised finger motioning her to quiet as she then gestures her further into the kitchen, Cyrena grumpily complies and shuffles a bit further onto the tile, head low as she fights back the annoying blush creeping onto her cheeks.

 

"We're not thinking anything dear, we're just going to make sure we have everything in order is all. It's been years since we got to see you in person and while we won't judge you about your choices-"

 

"I am not dating either of them Mom," She keeps her voice low, knowing that if they want to be, both brothers could probably sneak up on them quiet easily and she fights the urge to grind her teeth as the two older women exchange quick glances.

 

"I told you dear, you owe me twenty dollars," Gran smiles widely and Cyrena throws her arms up in exasperation, "Oh my gosh you guys! Seriously!? I called only two hours ago and you already made bets!" She cries

 

"Oh it's only harmless fun honey, now let's approach the real elephant in the room, why is your LV at five?"

 

She feels herself grow pale, all joking and annoyance draining from the room as she fights the lump in her throat, "I was attacked, my magic got unstable and I couldn't stop…….now I'm finding it harder to control it," As if her Soul has something to prove it cackles in her chest, the house groans slightly and the cabinets rattle at the energy trapped beneath her skin, the new strength is foreign and she feels sweat beading along her brow as her Gran sighs heavily and approaches her to pull her into a firm hug.

 

"It'll all be ok sweetheart, we'll take care of it," She soothes her, her gentle Soul squashing the fear growing inside Cyrena as the younger witch crumples forward to hug her grandmother tightly, chest tight with anxiety.

 

This is the main reason she came back.

 

To release her magic freely without fear of harming anyone.

 

It'll be painful on her end, but in the end everyone will be safer once her magic is dulled.

 

It's going to be a long night.


	12. Captured Crow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Here's the actual chapter! I think I'll be able to get another one later if you guys want :D

They've cornered them, well they've cornered him, Papyrus was lucky enough to be invited to cook along with Gran……while Sans got stuck with the three most terrifying members of the family, Cyrena's Grandpa and her parents….

"That was really kind of you to help Cyrena out like that, you guys have known her for how long?" Her mother, Abby, asks as she pours him some more tea.

Though he's not much of a tea drinker the aroma of the tea sitting in front of him actually smells pretty nice and the skeleton picks up the mug after she finishes, holding it in his boney palm as he thinks back to when they first met Cyrena.

"maybe a month….not sure," he answers shrugging as he takes a cautious sip of the tea.

"You must really like her to let her stay with you guys, a month isn't a long time to really get to know someone," Richard, Cyrena's father, comments as he flips through the TV channels while her Gramps starts nodding off, head bobbing slightly as his eyes close slowly.

"monsters are made of love, hope, and compassion, we don't really turn our backs on those in need. It's not in our nature," Sans explains, eye sockets wide as Abby looks to Richard who seems to have settled on some sort of sports channel.

Is he being interrogated?

"So you like our daughter?" Abby asks sweetly, smiling warmly at the skeleton as he nods quietly.

"at first I wasn't sure 'cause she was putting a front that she was normal so when we found out she had magic I figured she had more secrets so I still didn't trust her completely…"

"But you do now?"

"yeah……she's really kind, sweet and I think-"

"Mom," He twitches as his mug is suddenly yanked from his grasp and he looks up to see Cyrena leaning over the side of the couch, his tea in her hand and there's a look of scorn on her face.

"Please don't use Truth Tea on my friends," She says dumping the sweet tasting liquid into a nearby plant, her Soul flaring slightly in her chest he stares at the colors with concern, there's a sickly looking film around her Soul.

It dulls the colors a lot and he can barely feel any magic energy coming from her, he covers the bracelet secured around his wrist with his hand, the energy there is faint too.

"Sorry sweetie your father and I were curious as to how monsters react to our silly little potions," Abby explains kindly, her motherly charm dulling the slight betrayal, Sans frowns slightly at having been tricked but as he feels the warmth of the tea leaving his bones he also understands why they did it.

"it's ok, they're just making sure you're safe," Sans says, earning three glances of surprise from the Crows, "I'd do the same if my brother was staying with strangers…"

As if on cue Papyrus comes strutting out of the kitchen with Bear at his side and Gran on their heels, "BROTHER I HAVE LEARNED HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE BREAD! IT SMELLS WONDERFUL AND WILL GO GREAT WITH MY AMAZING SPAGHETTI!"

"that's great bro, will it be done soon?"

Papyrus looks to Gran curiously and she laughs lightly at his perplexed expression, "We have to wait a bit but it'll be worth it, he is an excellent student and he learns fast,"

Papyrus puffs his chest out in pride at the compliment as the warm scent of baking dough drifts in from the kitchen, "DINNER SHALL BE SPECTACULAR!" He announces before going back to start on the spaghetti, Gran follows him to help keep an eye on the progress while Bear trots over to climb up onto the couch and throw himself at the skeleton sitting there.

Sans doesn't bother moving the canine from his lap and instead falls asleep with ease, snoring beneath the large dog earning a bit of laughter from Cyrena's parents just as her phone goes off in her pocket.

"Oh just a sec, call me when dinner is ready," She says flashing a tired smile to her folks before she heads for the stairs, flipping her phone out she briefly glances at the caller I.D. before answering.

"Frisk hey bud I didn't think you could-"

"Turn yourself in and we won't hurt the kid," Her face falls as all color drains from her face, her hand goes limp and she nearly drops the phone, heart sinking into her stomach.

"Where the hell did you take them?"

"Relax they're safe for now, can't say the same for that goat monster though, left her in pretty bad shape……we might just go back to finish her off right before we kill the kid…..now, be a good girl and come back to us. Don't tell anyone either, leave all your familiars behind as well,"

Cyrena glances over her shoulder, anxiety creeping up her spine as she hears bubbling laughter drift up from the living room as Papyrus shouts something about Sans being a lazy-bones……"Where are you?"

"Your old high school, the gym, remember, no friends and no familiars or else we'll kill them both,"

The line goes dead.

* * *

 

Her gut twists painfully as the school comes into view down below, she slows the broom down as she descends and lands evenly on the pavement, tugging the hood of her jacket back she releases a shaky breath.

Please….please don't let Frisk be hurt….she speed walks to the old gymnasium, the vast parking lot is empty and forgotten, weeds take advantage of the decaying pavement and sprout up between cracks in its surface.

Her bare feet pad quietly across the cold stone as she reaches the doors and pulls one open, the metal groans from the movement and she steps into the inky darkness, summoning a weak flame in her palm she barely sees the outline of the fist just before it makes contact.

The hit is so hard it knocks her back against the harsh metal and she shouts as the back of her head makes contact as the fist that hit her grabs the front of her jacket, without pausing to give her room to react her attacker yanks her forward as a knee comes up to make contact with her abdomen.

All the air in her lungs escapes with a wheezing cough as she doubles over and collapses to the floor, broom clattering loudly against the wooden floor.

CYRENA!

"Good girl, you listened for once, the doctor will be so happy to have you back it hasn't been the same since you've left," He looms over her, face as smug as ever as his dark eyes twinkle like empty pools down at her.

"W-why……keep following his orders…..Jay?"

"Why not? He knows what he's doing, he has a plan, a vision for this world and it's a good one," Jay leans down grabbing a fistful of her hair to hold her head up, he's barely got any hair growing on top of his shaved head and his unshaven face doesn't help hide the deep scars running along the side of his jaw and all the way down his neck.

Her eyes are drawn to the old wounds and she flinches when he twists her hair and snarls, amused, "Oh? You still remember how you gave these to me huh? Got to say, that was a big surprise for us all when you became that…..thing, but that just made the boss want you even more. He's got all sorts of methods and experiments he'd like to run on you when I get you back home,"

Cyrena gathers up a wad of saliva and spits it out, grinning as he curses and throws her back out of annoyance, "You have me, let them go," Her eyes dart past him, searching the shadows for Frisk……the kid is tied up snuggly, their big brown eyes watery and a bruise has formed on their cheek.

Her Soul aches as rage boils hot beneath her skin, "You said you wouldn't hurt them," She grits her teeth and looks to Jay as he smirks and arches his eyebrows up in mock surprise.

"Did I? Huh my memory is all fuzzy, ya know how it is, once they zap you enough times your mind gets kinda scrambled,"

She launches herself off the floor, barreling into him with all her weight as her magic flares briefly, eyes flashing brilliant colors before blinking out…..he shoves her back roughly and she rolls across the floor briefly before trying to get to her feet.  
Terror washes through her as she tries to reach for her magic…..her Soul….."Surprised? We put a hex on Owen…..knew he'd wind up running into you eventually and since you're obviously stronger than him it'd only be a matter of time before he died at your hands. Sure you might've gained LV but you also gained a hex, a curse, which stunts your magical abilities once it sets in,"

Her hands shake as she looks past him anxiously to Frisk, she's never felt more terrified….."Let them go….." She begs, stumbling forward a step as she holds out her hands towards him, wrists upturned as silent tears trek down her paling face, "Please,"

Jay purses his lips as he eyes her, "On your knees and don't move," He orders approaching her as she crouches to the floor, hands still out he grins and grabs her hands before yanking them harshly behind her back.

She bites her tongue and draws blood as he presses a ring to the inside of her wrist the metal blazing hot it burns a brand into her skin and she chokes on a sob as her hands remain stuck where they are, her arms shaking violently as her muscles cramp and she hiccups slightly.

Striding over to them he yanks Frisk up by their rope and shoves them forward, "Alright brat, outside, and don't even think about following us,"

Cyrena meets their gaze as they stumble past her, fresh tears in their eyes their mouth is set in a grim line of determination, Don't be afraid, we'll get you back.

She turns her head away, hair falling forward to shield her face as the gym doors bang open loudly and Frisk is led outside.

Jay can teleport too, Frisk won't be able to get to her family in time, she'll disappear from their lives once again and this time….

She doesn't think she'll be able to escape.


	13. Blooded and Broken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be blood and some violence in this chapter.
> 
> It's a bit graphic (I think) so please remember that.

Every bone is in her body aches and the rich flavor of copper stains her tongue as Jay delivers another punch to her bruising jaw.

 

Hands still secured snuggly behind her back she bows her head to avoid his smirking face as he wipes her blood off his knuckles and onto her jacket, which he's torn off her to use as a cloth to clean up with, "I was kinda hoping you'd put up more of a fight, guess you've gotten weaker since you got out," He wanders over to a chair and takes a seat, kicking his feet up on a desk he takes a swig from an old bottle of alcohol he stole.

 

The classroom is eerily empty save for a few over turned desks and old drawings from children that hang like haunted memories on the walls, moonlight filters in from the windows and she crouches in the center of the beams, blood dripping slowly from her nose as she breathes harshly through her mouth.

 

He hasn't moved her from the school grounds and she doesn't dare ask why he's toying with her and waiting so long to move her…..maybe her friends and family will be able to come get her after all.

 

But she knows better than to cling to hope, she's learned in the past that if she hopes for something…..it tends to fail.

 

"Come on Cy, can't we have a nice discussion? So, aside from getting all buddy-buddy with a monster and their kid what else have you been up to?" Jay leans forward, legs sliding off the desk as he takes another gulp of beer, the affects not kicking in yet…..it takes a lot to get creatures like him drunk.

 

"Living a normal life, believe it or not," She mutters bitterly, spitting a clot of blood onto the tile she tilts her head to wipe the remains off onto the shoulder of her shirt, "And I see you're still kissing ass,"

 

He teleports the short distance between them, fist curled tight and burning with dark flames the punch nearly knocks her out but she clings to the last strands of consciousness as she falls back painfully, without her hands to catch her she lands right on top of them and she gags as she feels a bone in her wrist snap.

 

Rolling onto her side she sobs as black splotches dance across her vision and she pants in pain as she tries to stay awake.

 

"Bitch," He grumbles, she can't see him from her position but she hears his boot-clad feet tap against the tile as he walks off somewhere out of view leaving her to wallow on the cold floor.

 

Her whole body shakes violently as she coughs and tries to focus inwards on her magic……combing through the empty feeling in her chest she feels a dull pulse and pulls, fighting through the haze of the hex she feels a flush of relief as her Soul's constant humming fills her once again.

 

But her magic is still too far away to reach.

 

She starts whispering beneath her breath anyways, teeth gritted together she forces every ounce of spite into the curses spilling from her lips in an old forgotten language, it was then that Jay returns.

 

He grabs her hair roughly and yanks her up onto her knees, "Stop that!" He shouts as she continues, eyes a dull gray she keeps her gaze locked on his as she continues to chant, fear flashes over his features as he shakes her in attempt to stop her.

 

"SHUT UP!" His magic flares, unstable briefly she feels the rune on her wrist throb and she gives her hands a yank against the invisible force as she throws her head forward.

 

Their foreheads crack together painfully and Jay shouts at the sudden attack, stumbling back he grits his teeth and fixes his gaze on her.

 

Cyrena stands on unsteady limbs, cradling her broken wrist against her chest she meets his gaze, a single color having returned to her irises she grins widely and exposes sharpened teeth, " _I still have a few tricks up my sleeves,_ ** _remember?"_**

 

* * *

 

 

Sans phone rang just before Papyrus stuck his head out of the kitchen to shout that dinner is ready, he flips his phone open and shoves his free hand into pocket, "sup?"

 

"Sans! They took Frisk!" Toriel's broken voice fills the line as he feels his Soul drop into his stomach and his pupils disappear, empty sockets meet Papyrus' as his brother frowns worriedly.

 

"when?"

 

"J-just a little bit ago…..this guy came out of nowhere when we were out shopping a-and he teleported away with my child…" Tori hiccups softly, voice becoming muffled as she probably covers her mouth to prevent sobs from escaping.

 

"we'll find them Tori don't-"

 

The front door bangs open causing the entire house to fall silent, standing in the doorway with their hand poised to knock Frisk looks around the room with wide tear filled eyes, their gaze falls on Sans and they rush forward to crash into him, **_They have Cyrena!_**

 

"Tori, Frisk just showed up……Cyrena is gone…" His empty sockets turn to her family, Abby's face is hard and there's no color to her cheeks, eyes glassy she turns to her husband with a firm frown.

 

"We're going to stop those bastards from taking our daughter again, Mom, Dad, you two stay with Frisk here just in case Cyrena gets free. Sans, Papyrus, you're with us," She says briskly as she moves to a closet near the front door.

 

"You boys ever ride a broom before?"

 

* * *

 

 

Her hands shake violently, blood trickling down from her scalp to run in crimson rivets down her face as she gags on air.

 

"You really thought I'd be alone? I'm not stupid," Jay circles her slowly, blooded baseball bat resting on his shoulder as another one of the men in jumpsuits delivers a sharp blow to her abdomen, there's at least forty men gathered in the back parking lot of the school.

 

Their dark vans are parked in a circle creating a shield from any would-be-witnesses, she's strung up from a lamp post, the rope cutting into her wrists and her broken one is swollen, the bone and flesh throbbing in time with her heartbeat as she tries to remain on her tip-toes to relieve as much pressure as possible.

 

Her gray button-up hangs open and the white shirt beneath it is stained red from an open gash the bat ripped into her side, she can still see her blood dripping slowly from a few nails protruding from the sides of it.

 

She keeps her mouth set in a firm line, blood red eyes never leaving Jay even when the man in front of her punches her in the new wound, she teeters on her toes and grits her teeth.

 

She can't think straight, mind clouded with pain and rage she's bidding her time, eyes drifting towards the dark forest beyond and the stars glittering weakly between the branches she lets out a weak laugh.

 

"What's so funny?" Jay shoos her current abuser aside, jabbing the bat into her stomach again, the sharpened ends of the nails ripping a few pieces of her shirt into shreds.

 

"The stars are beautiful…..aren't they?" She smiles at him, eyes flickering back to his scowling face as she narrows her gaze and her grin broadens to expose her teeth, "I know someone who loves the stars, loves the sky, he'll just love to give you all **_a bad time,"_**

 

He swings the bat at her, aiming for her head but it never makes contact, a flurry of dark feathers erupt outward, large dark wings blocking the blow the bat explodes on contact and the wooden splitters rain down to the pavement as a hush falls over the parking lot.

 

**_"Oops, sorry I didn't mean to break your toy,"_** The wings slowly move, curling back behind her to expose her grinning face, **_"Have you ever seen someone pushed to the point of breaking? I have…..it's terrifying how far they'll go to get free,"_**

 

The sound of bone crunching fills the air and Jay takes a few staggering steps back as Cyrena twists her broken wrist free, blood soaks her entire sleeve as she eases her hands down and stands on her feet, she grasps at her wrist and eases the bone back into place before wiggling her fingers.

 

**_"I'm sorry I have to do this, really, but you leave me no choice,"_** She lunges at him, a flurry of dark feathers and sharpened teeth he shouts and throws up a barrier but it's too late.

 

Her teeth latch onto his shoulder, sinking like hot knives through butter he screams as blood pours from the wound and he hits the pavement hard, skull cracking against the surface he goes limp instantly and she releases him, dark locks shielding her face she stands and wipes her mouth off onto her sleeve as a single gunshot goes off.

 

Hot pain slices through her back and she whirls around as the wound blooms blood, her dark red eyes fix on her new attacker as he fires off another round, she moves swiftly, narrowly getting grazed she barrels into the man as her hands grab hold of the gun breaking it instantly as her teeth snap just mere inches from his face.

 

The man elbows her harshly in her wound and she staggers back as more of the men rush forward, tasers at the ready they attempt to swarm her.

 

She keeps most at bay, magic flaring to life in weak bursts that send them scattering briefly before they gain their footing or decide to go for their guns.

 

They'll kill her and risk getting in trouble with the boss later……if it means they'll survive they'll end her life before she has the chance to take theirs.

 

Fear and pain overwhelm her and she can feel her body giving up, sagging forward from blood loss she crumples to the ground like a broken doll, wings dissipating into black dust as she coughs weakly, blood bubbling past her lips as her irises fade to gray before rolling back into her head.

 

The men pause in their attacks, a collective relief moving through the crowd as one of them moves forward to nudge her with a boot, "Geez if she's dead the boss will kill us,"

 

"We'll just blame Jay, say he got too excited about teaching her a lesson," One pipes up earning a collective mummer of agreement.

 

The next few seconds are blur, one minute they're all standing around eyeing the unconscious witch on the pavement and the next the world is up in flames.

 

A handful of the vans explode as bones explode from the earth to put up a protective barrier around Cyrena as scrap metal and flames rain down on their heads, shocked shouts go up as the ones currently not on fire aim their guns in the direction the explosions originated from.

 

"that's not fair," The guns are ripped from their grasps by a blue aura, it raises the weapons into the air and twists each on into a pretzel as two skeletons and two strangers step through the flames.

 

The pavement cracks beneath their feet as roots explode from the earth, coiling like snakes around most of them while the fire races forward to create burning cages around the rest.

 

Abby races forward through the chaos as the bones fade away and she crouches over her daughter, "Oh no…..sweetie wake up…" Cradling her close she brushes tangled locks from Cyrena's slack face, fingers shaking she lowers her head to listen to her chest.

 

Richard moves to his wife's side and caresses Cyrena's limp scalp, her parents kneel there over her as a hush falls over everyone, the men don't dare speak as the two skeletons fix two burning pupils on them, one blue and the other orange.

 

"We have to get her home….Sans, can you teleport her home, you know the path right? It'll be faster, she needs to be healed and only Gran can do it," Abby turns to the shorter skeleton as his blue pupil flares and he nods grimly, grinning mouth set in a frown he moves to them and carefully picks Cyrena up.

 

"Please hurry," She begs before the skeleton blinks out of existence.

 

"WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH THESE MEAN HUMANS?" Papyrus asks, arms crossed over his armored chest, all traces of the friendly skeleton are gone, replaced by a protector who's orange pupil flickers in his skull.

 

Richard stands and cracks his knuckles, "I think we should teach them just how terrifying we can be, witches and monsters alike,"

 

"ALRIGHT, BUT I DO NOT INTEND ON KILLING THEM,"

 

"Oh we won't, we'll just send a message to their boss," Abby scoops her brown hair back and ties it up into a ponytail, magic energy crackling in the air like a brewing storm.

 

Papyrus is thankful Sans was so calm this time around…..but he knows his brother won't let this slide.

 

This tiny storm is nothing compared to what his brother is capable of.

 


	14. Empty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so terribly sorry it's taken me so long to get this chapter out, this month has been tough and I've had a lot of family in and out of the hospital so it's been rough, hard to focus on anything, I apologize and hope that I can get to writing again, thank you guys for being so patient.

Darkness.

 

Vast empty darkness.

 

She floats among it, lost to sight and sound as a dull light spills from her chest in a kaleidoscope of colors but its beams don't stretch far enough out to chase away the never ending shadows and so she floats, and waits.

 

On the edges of her mind she feels pain, like pin pricks of needles lightly poking and prodding she edges away from the discomfort and further into the black, wisps of her hair float around her skull to tickle her cheeks.

 

Long tresses glitter like the night sky as she whisks around, searching, for what she can't remember……stopping she waits and listens, fear sinking into her as she realizes she can't even remember who she is….

 

Where is she? What is she? Why is she here?

 

Her mind reels and she reaches up to clutch it as hot white pain envelopes her, blanketing over her like a thick sheet she reels away from it and tries to cry out, tries to move away from it but it clings to her like glue and the darkness ebbs to gray before the pain lessens but it stays and lingers just beneath her skin.

 

Voices fill her ears but they're muffled and far away, like someone standing out on the street shouting at her while she stays inside, the voices are coming from the same direction the pain originated from and she drifts back away from it.

 

The voices grow louder, desperate as the light in her chest flickers like a dying candle, hesitating she tries moving towards the voices now and the light steadies and brightens slightly.

 

Slowly edging onward she keeps her arms and legs tucked close, the gray world becoming lighter and lighter, reaching towards white but she stops again.

 

There's a pull, a firm tug at the source of the light in her chest and she turns towards the tugging, eyes searching the emptiness to finally lock on a single floating object a few feet away.

 

It looks like an upside down heart, pulsing steadily like a heartbeat she feels a stronger pull as the heart flares with bright blue light.

 

Drifting away from the voices for a brief second she reaches out for the heart, cupping it in a single hand she flinches as the source of the light in her chest breaks free to float out in front of her.

 

It's a heart too, a right side up one, and it's a mess of colors, it's pulsing slowly, weakly, but as the upside down one brightens the pulse in hers grows stronger.

 

The voices grow in volume but the words are still too muffled, releasing the heart she turns back towards them as her heart sinks back into her chest and she moves onward, the pulse now drumming steadily within her as the world around her shines brighter and brighter till she's forced to raise her arms and shield her eyes.

 

The voices become deafening and then the empty world goes up in smoke.

* * *

 

Potions can only do so much once a person reaches a certain limit, that's what her grandparents said, they also told him that it'll heal the smaller wounds and stop the bleeding but she'll probably have scars…..

 

Sans holds Frisk against him as the kid sleeps uneasily, face taunt with worry they only recently just went to sleep, having been determined to stay up so they could talk to Cyrena when she woke.

 

Everyone in the house is sleeping uneasily, everyone except Sans, who's dull pupils stay locked on the faint image of Cyrena's Soul as it occasionally flickers and her breathing slows to the point where panic fills him and he nearly lurches from the chair, but every time he feels the panic she goes back to the steady light and her breathing evens out.

 

He hasn't felt this worried in a long time and he has to keep memories at bay as he watches her pale, expressionless face, remains of dried blood flaking across her forehead and around her nostrils.

 

The rainbow in her hair is gone, all color from her is gone, there's no rosy tint to her cheeks or lips and it's honestly something he's never noticed about humans…..but the alive ones, the healthy ones, always have splotches of pink on their skin.

 

She's just a solid canvas of pale skin.

 

Sans skull dips forward and he feels his eye sockets growing heavy, he briefly falls asleep, it happens so fast, one second he's about to dip into deep slumber the second he's jerking awake as someone…..something…..touches his Soul.

 

Panic flits through him as he jerks awake and Frisk nearly topples from his lap as they look around in alarm, searching for a threat that isn't there.

 

They exchange confused looks as his Soul hammers against his ribs and his breathing slows, "s-sorry kid, must've been a bad dream," He ruffles their mop of hair as Frisk flashes a weak understanding smile.

 

The door to her room bangs open and Sans wraps a protective arm around Frisk as Cyrena's mom steps into the room, eyes wide, "Cyrena? Oh gosh sweetheart,"

 

The healing potion can't dull all the pain and the instant she wakes up her body lets her know just how messed up it is, rolling onto her side she hugs her arm to her stomach in an attempt to ease the pain there and her back throbs in time with her racing heartbeat.

 

Her mom reaches out to soothe her but she shakes her head briskly, moving to sit up she gags on the warmth that bubbles in her chest as more pain blooms through her abdomen, she rolls out of bed quickly but her legs are numb and she can't get them under her in time.

 

Hard arms catch her from hitting the ground and the motion jars the already painful parts of her body but it's dosed quickly as a soothing calm rushes through her the instant she grasps at the bare bones of his arms, "it's ok, I got ya,"

 

For some reason the sound of his voice brings everything rushing back and she feels the tears in her eyes before the sob leaves her throat, she collapses into his arms as she tries to cry away the pain.

 

Her Soul feels like a solid weight in her chest and most of the pain pulsates from there, no one utters a word as she continues to cry, being held up by the skeleton who looks to her mother for help.

 

Frisk edges forward, as if worried they might scare her away, the kid carefully reaches up to wrap their arms around her as well and soon her mom kneels down to join the huddle.

 

They stay like that for a while till she settles down and her breathing steadies, her mom gently ushers Sans and Frisk from the room so she can get a better look at how Cyrena's wounds are healing, she changes her too, swapping out the stained, ripped clothes for some comfortable pj's.

 

Once she's dressed her mother leads her downstairs to the kitchen where Sans and Frisk are already waiting, "Would you like something to eat?" Abby asks as she brushes some stray hair off Cyrena's face.

 

She studies her mother for a moment before shaking her head silently and gravitating towards Sans, she sits beside him and stares down at the table, eyes blank and gray….

 

Abby looks to the skeleton worriedly, her face paling as she looks to her daughter helplessly, not sure what to do, "you really should try to eat something, I don't have the stomach for it but you do," Sans grins and lightly nudges her arm with his elbow, careful not to prod too hard for fear of hurting her.

Cyrena reaches out to gently curl her hand over his lower arm, hanging onto it she nods quietly and looks to her mom, she doesn't speak a single word, just waits and watches.

 

An odd heavy silence settles among the small group as Abby goes to prepare a small snack while Frisk pulls up a chair on Cyrena's other side, **_I'm sorry……_** Their eyes are glassy with tears as they touch her arm, trying to stubbornly hold their tears at bay as the witch turns towards them and wraps her arms snuggly around them.

 

Frisk cries softly into Cyrena's shoulder as they hug the girl back, she still hasn't talked, instead she only holds Frisk closer and rocks them gently, eyes cloudy and distant as she waits for the child to relax.

 

Sans feels his Soul ache and he frowns, watching the exchange, Cyrena isn't even talking to Frisk……and neither of them have heard her try to talk with her Soul, it makes his nonexistent gut clench as he feels sweat bead on his skull.

 

This can't be good.


	15. One Step Forward

It's about 2 am, yet Cyrena can't find sleep. Every time she closes her eyes she feels venerable to whatever lurks outside; she feels like a little kid all over again but it's hard to put her fears to rest when she just relived an echo of what she went through when she was younger.

 

The sensation of phantom hands yanking at her hair is what brought her to the downstairs bathroom, scissors in hand, her dark hair a mess from all her fruitless tossing and turning she sighs as she stares at the sheer amount she'll have to cut through.

 

She's never cut hair before and she's not entirely sure how she'll manage the back……she doesn't want to try anything with her magic just yet, she's scared.

 

Placing the scissors on the bathroom counter she turns and makes her way to the kitchen. Fixing herself a glass of water, she quietly sips the cool liquid as she stares out the window over the sink, watching the dark clouds above block out patches of stars as they're carried by the gentle wind.

 

"You're up rather late, aren't you?" Cyrena twitches in surprise and turns to a gently smiling Toriel; her parents insisted that her and Frisk spend the night due to the potential threats and the fact that they really didn't want Toriel to have to drive all the way back home at night.

 

Cyrena shrugs her shoulders lightly, she's still not speaking, she can't find it in herself to talk much right now……..

 

"It's alright, it'll be our secret," Toriel says.

 

 Cyrena retrieves a glass for her as Toriel moves to stand in the kitchen, touching her arm gently, she smiles but there's an edge of sadness to the motion, "You risked your life for my Frisk……"

 

Cyrena steps closer and melts into her motherly embrace, resting her cheek against Toriel's chest, she feels the faint hum of her Soul beneath all the cotton of her night gown and fur. "Thank you….so much Cyrena, I'm sorry you went through all that," She whispers, drawing the witch closer. She gently squeezes her before stepping back to wipe at her eyes with a laugh.

 

"You still haven't found your voice?" she asks as she gets herself a drink as well, watching as Cyrena works on untangling a knot in her hair, "Do you need help brushing it?"

 

Cyrena nods eagerly and takes Toriel's large hand in hers, gently tugging she leads Tori back to the bathroom, pointing to the hairbrush then the scissors hopefully, she offers both to the goat who blinks her violet eyes in surprise.

 

"You wish to cut it?"

 

Cyrena nods rapidly, moving a hand up to measure the length, right below her jaw.

 

"I've cut Frisks' hair a few times, I'm not a professional, but I'll help," Tori smiles and nods, stepping up to start on working out the tangles first.

 

* * *

 

 

Cyrena got a few hours of sleep on the living room sofa. One of her grandma's quilts lays over her and she stirs as the first rays of sunlight hit her eyelids. She blinks rapidly and scrunches up her nose before sitting up with a scowl.

 

_You changed your hair again……though I'm glad to see it's still the same color I'll miss hiding in your hair._

 

Venus uncurls from his spot on the arm of the couch to rub his forehead against her arm, purring when she reaches over to scratch at his ears. A loud yawn alerts her to Bear who is draped over her feet. "Good morning! Your sleepover idea was fun," he says happily, climbing off the couch clumsily he manages to get three out of four legs out from under himself before he touches the floor with the last one slowly sliding off the cushions to join the others before he stretches.

 

_You didn't sleep at all, did you? Your parents are going to be upset, you should be resting._

 

Cyrena waves a hand dismissively and untangling herself from the blanket, she stands and walks to the front window. Reaching up to pat her hair down she smiles at the cool air against the back of her neck. She's never had her hair this short……it's refreshing.

 

_Still quiet too, do you need anything Cy?_ Venus is on her shoulder in an instant, curled lightly around her neck. He peers out the window as she moves the blinds slightly to watch the sunrise.

 

The cat frowns when he gets no response. He looks back to Bear who is watching them both anxiously, his head tilted slightly, hoping to hear her voice.

 

_Cy?_

 

Cyrena gently moves Venus off her shoulder and to the windowsill, and patting his head she smiles and moves off, heading for the stairs she goes to her old bedroom to change for the day.

 

Surprisingly it doesn't take very long until someone else wakes up. Cyrena is back downstairs, sitting at the kitchen table, working on a dream catcher,  weaving the outer most part with thick cords, cutting off pieces as she goes with a knife. Bent over her work she doesn't notice he's there until the hairs along the back of her neck prickle and stand on end. She straightens up swiftly as her heart leaps into her throat and her grip on the knife tightens, the nerves in her arms twitching as she very nearly thrusts the knife back and into his abdomen. Of course it probably wouldn't have done anything since he's made of bone.

 

She's still grateful his hand was there to prevent her from following though.

 

She twitches just slightly when his boney hand presses lightly over her forearm, moving forward to her wrist he ever so gently works his finger bones between hers and the knife drops to the table.

 

"knife to see you, too,"

 

Goosebumps spread up along her back at the brush of hot breath against the side of her neck. His hand moves away and he's at her side, all smiles but there's a bead of sweat on his skull and she can see evidence of dark  circles under his eye sockets.

 

 "didn't really peg you as the morning type, can't sleep?"

 

She nods quietly, trying to calm her frantic heart as she eases out a breath, she watches his pupils as he stares at her hair quietly, and then he turns and rummages in the fridge, coming back with a bottle of ketchup while she shakes her head at him.

 

"I'm not going to drink it all, just a bit," he says and sits in the chair opposite her, popping open the cap, he gestures with the bottle to the dream catcher, "what's that?"

 

She smiles and shrugs,  going back to work.

 

 "giving me the silent treatment? Is it because I didn't say your hair looks nice? 'cause it does." Sans takes a hearty gulp from the ketchup.

 

"I'm not telling you because you'll just steal it, like you stole that bracelet," Cyrena says.

 

"come on, it's blue, you  obviously made it for me, 'sides you gave Paps his,"

 

"It was going to be a surprise,"

 

"it's good to hear your voice again,"

 

Cyrena clams up, eyes narrowing as she stares at him. She stops working and simply leans back in her seat, never once moving her gaze off him, saying "It was only a day,"

 

"you're recovering quickly, I'm glad you're talking again………but…" he sets the bottle down, propping an arm up on the table before he leans his jaw into his palm while keeping hold of her gaze, "your Soul-"

 

"Will heal too," she cuts in, though she's talking it is taking a toll on her…….she can feel the rawness of her voice from where she was injured in the scuffle and she swallows past the memories trying to resurface, "When did you show up? To get me?"

 

"you were passed out, those guys were probably going to load you up in their vans and drive off,"

 

Cyrena nods quietly in agreement, so they hadn't seen…..that's good……

 

"those scars on your back are weird though,"

 

She tenses and dares to meet his gaze again.

 

His white pupils hold hers: there's no judgement or fear or anger there. "your mom seemed kind of surprised," he says, turning his attention to the ketchup bottle, picking at the label as she remains quiet.

 

"I'll explain, but on one condition," Cyrena sighs, pushing her chair back to stand while Sans lifts his head to watch her, "I get to take you on a broom ride." Her lips split into a wide-toothed grin, eyes the shade of the night sky just as the sun rises-he swears he sees a twinkle of stars.

 

He feels sweat beading on his skull and he hopes that she can't see the dusty blue on his cheekbones as his nonexistent stomach twists nervously, "I'm going to regret agreeing to this aren't I?"

 

"Maybe."

 

"well at least you're honest."


	16. Sky High

It's very easy for Cyrena to find her broom since her family took care to store it in her old bedroom. Tucked safely in a corner, the worn wood catches her eye and she digs it out with gusto, turning to proudly present it to the skeleton.

"Ta-da! This was my first broom. It's a little old but it's safe," she smiles widely, running her fingers over the faded etchings of stars in the light brown wood. She then looks to the frayed ribbons tied to hold the bristles in place.

It looks a lot older than it is, probably because she ran it through a couple trees when she was younger…..but Sans doesn't have to know that. "Come on, before the others wake up," she says, and holding the broom in her left hand, she takes Sans' with her right and proceeds to drag him outside into the dawn of a new day.

Cyrena lays the broom out horizontally at waist level. It floats there on its own once she releases it to throw a leg over it. "Come on, before the sun chases away the stars," she says, patting the space behind her, smiling as she watches Sans tap his boney fingers together nervously with a wide smile still upon his skull as he steps forward to swing a leg over it.

She can see the sweat beading on his skull.

"Nervous?" she asks, and fighting back the urge to smile, she bites her lip to keep it at bay.

"n-no, I flew with your parents the other night…"

"How high up did they go?" she asks, lifting her feet off the ground. The broom starts to ascend slowly and she feels one of his hands fist into the back of her shirt; the other is probably gripping the broom handle.

"u-uh I'm not sure," Sans answers, eyes glued to the ground as they slowly inch higher, he feels dizzy as they continue to go up.

"Don't watch the ground," Cyrena says, lightly nudging his slipper with her bare foot. He lets out a quiet gasp and both hands are now grasping at her shirt. "Look up."

She takes a peek over her shoulder to see his white pupils still trained on the yard below. "Sans, look up," she says firmly, giving his foot another nudge, "please."

He finally manages to look away, tipping forward slightly as he turns his skull up to the sky. His pupils brighten and he lets out another gasp—this one is different however, and Cyrena smiles as she, too, looks up.

They were moving through a cloud bank, the air around them cooling and dampening slightly just before they broke through to find the sky stretched out before them.

Billions of stars speckled the sky to their left in an array of sizes, twinkling in their blanket of dark space. As the sun slides further into the sky, the dark expanse of space fades to shades of blue, then purple and dark pinks, before bleeding into vibrant a orange closer to the sun's rays.

The pink coloring sinks into the clouds around them, with the edges closer to them retaining edges of white while they float there, almost weightless as the sun climbs up over the horizon and the last of the stars fade out of view.

Cyrena turns to sit sideways on the broom, her legs dangling freely in the air, and she watches the first flock of birds as they take to the sky. They're nothing but dark specks against the vast colors, but she can faintly hear their morning songs.

"It's beautiful, huh? Glad you let me bring you up here?" Cyrena asks as she smiles, short locks gently swaying in the breath of a breeze. Sans attention has long since left the sky and is now trained on the witch in front of him.

"yeah…..beautiful…" he agrees faintly, cheekbones flushing a light shade of blue as Cyrena turns to look at him, irises swirling with the colors of the sky. He notices the faint touch of pink to her cheeks as she meets his gaze.

Sans leans in first, releasing his death grip on the side of her shirt. He barely touches her cheek, relieved when she doesn't recoil away and instead leans into his touch, which causes her to lean in closer to him as well.

Cyrena's Soul flutters in her chest like a caged bird as she feels his breath on her lips and she closes her eyes as she gives in to the pull; however, neither get the chance to close the last few inches of space between them.

—With a loud deafening caw and a flurry of feathers, a bird crashes right into them, sending the broom spinning and nearly knocking them from their seats.

They quickly grasp hold of each other. Cyrena is thankful for the spell her parents placed on the broom that holds the rider in place no matter what; the only way they'd ever fall off was if the rider wanted to or if the broom itself snapped. Luckily, neither of those things happened, and instead Cyrena finds her forehead pressed up against Sans' with feathers sticking to their clothes and tangled in her hair.

The bird flies off cawing angrily, displeased it ran into them.

As she listens to its angry cries and Sans' fighting to spit out a feather, she feels laughter bubbling up, and still clutching onto the skeleton for dear life, she bursts out laughing until her sides hurt and tears spring up in the corners of her eyes.

Sans joins her a moment after, his bones rattling with his deep laughter as he pulls her closer in, skull nuzzling against her as blue tears of joy leak from his eyes.

"M-maybe we should head back to the house now?" Cyrena suggests, wiping at her eyes as she catches her breath, cheeks aching from laughing so hard.

"yeah…..before things get any more hawkward."

"S-Sans, I don't think that was a hawk!" Cyrena grins, adjusting herself on the broom to start their decent. She feels him scoot closer as she tilts the broom down, and she nearly jumps out of her skin when his arms snake around her middle loosely.

"what? Can't stand my eggcellent puns?" She can practically feel him smirking now.

"Come on Sans, quiet raven on with bird puns," Cyrena smiles coyly, slowing their decent a little as the house comes into view.

"ah, toucan play at this game, huh?" Sans asks, fingers drumming against her stomach as she snorts, holding back laughter.

"You're robin me blind here, Sans, I'd tell another bird pun but that would be fowl," Cyrena smiles widely as Sans groans lowly, bumping his forehead lightly against the back of her head.

"I give, I give, you win," the skeleton mumbles, though he doesn't sound too put off about losing this pun battle.

Cyrena eases the broom down to the yard while Sans releases his hold on her to allow her to hop off. She holds the broom steady for him as he climbs off next and looks to the house.

"think they're awake?" he asks, watching as she moves up to the porch and eases the front door open, and peeking inside, she gestures for him to follow quickly.

They step inside to a still, quiet house. Cyrena looks to the clock under the TV and winces at the time. "Thank you for going with me. You could've probably gone back to sleep and gotten a few more hours to rest."

"hey it's only nine, it's not like we stayed up forever," Sans shrugs, ever present smile on his face. He's stuffed his hands into the pockets of his hoody and seems to be waiting for her to do something.

"I can't cook breakfast if that's what you're waiting for," Cyrena mutters, leaning her broom against the back of the couch. She moves off to the kitchen to search for something to snack on while they wait for her parents or grandparents to wake and make a proper meal.

Sans trails after her quietly. "I'm not hungry," he answers simply.

"Not even ketchup?" she asks as she rummages around in the fridge. She finds an apple and steps back, shutting the fridge door after herself and turns around to lean back against the countertop as she takes a bite out of the fruit.

Sans doesn't comment and instead takes a few steps closer, an easy smile stretched across his skull. "you lied to me."

Cyrena arches a dark eyebrow and finishes her bite. "I did?" she asks in confusion, watching as he slowly closes the distance between them.

"you told Paps and I that your house was alive," he reminds her as the fridge begins to rattle before the door swings open and smacks him full force, knocking out whatever air he had in his ribs and effectively stopping him dead in his tracks.

Cyrena snorts and covers her mouth with her free hand, trying very hard to keep her laughter contained as the cabinets seem to rumble with laughter, the wood creaking lightly. "You just had to open your big mouth, numb skull."

The door slowly swings back into place, letting Sans rub at the front of his skull, wincing as he snickers at his own misfortune. "I take it your house decided it doesn't like me, huh?"

She smiles widely at this before taking another bite out of her apple, she chipmunks the piece in her cheek before speaking, "Guess we'll find out when you go to use the bathroom."

"w-wait, what does that mean?"

"You'll see."

"Cy! Come on throw me a bone!"

"Sans, that sounds wrong!"

"you're the one with the dirty mind, Miss Witch, not me."

"Oh, shut up!"

The bird slowly makes its decent, and landing on a cold balcony railing, it ruffles its feathers once before going still as a statue, eyes unmoving, unblinking as it waits.

A few minutes pass before the balcony door swings open, steel-toed shoes clicking against the concrete as a woman in her late forties approaches the dark bird, eyes narrowed behind wire-framed glasses. She touches the bird and it crumples into her hand.

"Ugh, these things never last….." she hisses in disappointment, turning the crow over so it rests on its back. She touches the chest and the feathers drop away to expose a metal body: the front resembles a small screen and she watches as the recording rewinds and plays.

The bird-machine is flying high through the morning air, the sun rising just behind it while its attention is down on the Crow family's home; it was so preoccupied watching the windows it failed to notice the two in the air.

The collision causes the picture to distort briefly before it becomes clear once again and the bird turns to cry at the source of its disturbance, only to find the object it had been searching for, her arms tangled around that of a skeleton monster.

The image zooms in and slows as the two begin laughing, still embracing. "Well, well, seems little Cyrena has grown, hasn't she? And it seems she's making friends….I never pegged her as a monster lover, though I'm not too surprised."

The woman smiles wickedly, white even teeth gleaming in the sunlight as she traces a fingertip along the image of Cyrena's face. "One monster deserves another," she practically purrs, staring longingly at the screen.


	17. To the beach!

She wakes in a dream, a nightmare. The press of a familiar coldness works its way through her skin and into her bones as she stares out at the blanket of snow ahead of her. The faint sound of chains clinking together draws her attention to the shackles around her ankles, the metal glistening wetly as the falling snow hits it and melts.

 

The chains have lost their red hot glow, but the scorching pain is still there. It flares from her ankles and a weird tugging sensation draws her attention to the burn wounds as they rapidly heal; she must've blacked out due to the pain.

 

Cyrena whimpers as she tries to work some feeling into her fingers. Grasping at the barely warm chains, she feels a bit of the cold bite ebb away as the burning metal scrapes her fingertips, leaving them bright pink.

 

The chains cool much too quickly thanks to the snow and she rubs at the thin material of the gray medical gown, trying to work more feeling into her hands as her breath escapes her chapped lips in misty puffs.

 

They left her out in the snowfall….again.

 

But she's not chained in the front courtyard this time: she's in a vast field, alone.

 

She turns her attention to getting free, breaths quickening as she searches for the stake buried under the fresh layer of snow. Her warming hands go numb almost instantly as she begins to dig desperately, scooping out a hole around the metal stake that's embedded in the damp earth. Shaking fingers grip the edges and she begins to pull as her blood roars in her ears.

 

Something prickles at the back of her mind—her instincts begin to scream at her…she's not as alone as she first thought.

 

The stake comes free with another rough tug, causing a few of her nails to break in the process. She sucks at her fingertips as she staggers to a stand on shaking legs. Clumps of snow cling to her legs and the lower half of the gown is completely soaked, leaving her shaking and pink-skinned as she finally senses the approaching danger.

 

A monster Soul, a big one. She can tell it's not a normal monster... It's Soul is sideways, lab-made, the color is off too, a deep dark red that oozes danger and hatred.

 

It appears out of the dusting snow fall like a phantom, it's sleek white fur matted and red in a few places; a heavy metal collar flattens the fur around the nape of its neck and she sees a spear jutting from a its left side.

 

Either they let it escape or it got free on its own…judging by its wounds it fought whoever was keeping it captive, and now she's in its path.

 

The body looks to be a mix of a bear and a wolf: the muzzle is long and broad with teeth protruding from its upper lip, its ears are small and round while its body is thicker through the front and its hindquarters slimmer, and its tail is thick like a wolf's.

 

Its eyes are blood red, and with black nostrils puffing out warm breaths, it inhales and swings it massive head, gaze locking on her from across the field.

 

They left her here to teach her a lesson…..maybe even kill her. The cold would've done that in another hour most likely. She's shaking harder now, teeth gritting together as the beast lets out a low bellow.

 

Every hair stands on end as it suddenly bolts straight for her, plowing through the snow as though it's nothing, and sending up a spray of fine dust, it closes the short distance in no time.

 

Cyrena barely dodges out of the way, the chains around her legs catching, sending her tumbling into a snow drift. Her ankles are throbbing as her muscles strain from the awkward angle.

 

Twisting swiftly, she grabs hold of the chains binding her feet together, hands glowing bright red as she grits her teeth and yanks!—they snap in two and she backpedals to a stand as the monster turns on her swiftly, charging again.

 

Its massive mouth closes around her side and chest, pinning down her left arm. Pain blossoms like an explosion going off behind her ribs, and her arm is burning as blood wells forth like a spring. While her face goes pale, her right arm takes on an ebony coloring. Her fingers elongate into claws as the coloring spreads rapidly until it reaches the side of her neck and her eyes burn bright.

 

She swings her right fist down and feels her claws sink deep into the delicate flesh surrounding the beast's eye. An eerie sense of calm and satisfaction seep into her bones as it screeches its fury, but she's got a good hold and she's not letting go.

 

The sharp smell of iron and the sensation of flesh rendering beneath her touch fills her senses before the world plunges into black.

 

She jerks awake so fast her vision swims and she inhales a shaking breath. Her skin feels clammy and she's shaking slightly from the nightmare. The memory feels almost foreign now as she stares out across the living room, with some fast food commercial playing cheery music in the background as she tries to get her bearings.

 

"bad nap?"

 

Her heart beat hasn't calmed yet and she feels as though it's lodged itself in her throat suddenly as her attention is drawn to the skeleton lounging on the couch off to her left. She fell asleep on the couch…"Y-yeah…..uh ,ya know, sometimes hard to shake those memories," she says with a shrug, rubbing at the back of her neck in hopes of relieving the pressure of a building headache.

 

Sans' white pinpricks are soft. She hadn't noticed it before, but the lights themselves seem fuzzy and she finds it oddly comforting as he watches her a moment, only turning his attention briefly to the kitchen where the familiar scent of bacon is beginning to waft from.

 

"didn't know they made ya kill monsters…." His tone isn't accusing, he doesn't sound pissed off or scared…he sounds…sad, almost, and she wonders only briefly if he felt for the monster that haunts her dreams.

 

Cyrena swallows thickly. Her eyes are wide. The color of her irises shifts quickly as she takes a moment to find her voice. "I didn't know your magic could do that," she says simply, feeling mildly violated from the thought that he looked in on her dream.

 

She should feel mad—upset, that he trespassed like that—but the thing is, she's been violated in far more worse ways. "it can't…..I was napping too, at first thought it was my dream….used to live in a place called Snowdin after all, and it wasn't named for its warm weather." His tone is light, boarding on teasing as his ever present smile stretches further and he tries to get a rise out of her.

 

She feels her lips twitch despite the cold sweat still clinging to her skin.

 

"realized it wasn't even close to home, though, when I saw you…" he reaches for her hand and she meets him halfway, not sure if he's comforting himself or her. "what the hell did they do to you? What did they make you do?"

 

Cyrena feels a chill creep up her spine at his tone. It's low and soft-spoken. His phalanges rub gently along the back of her fingers, moving over old scars without much resistance.

 

"A lot," she answers simply, feeling the edges of the dream ebbing away. All the tension in her body leaves as she has to remind herself she's safe, there's nothing dangerous here, she's home.

 

Sans doesn't release her hand even when Frisk makes a sudden appearance, smile beaming on their face seeing that both of them are awake, and quickly rushes over with a plate in their hands; it's topped with a few pancakes, strips of bacon, and some scrambled eggs.

 

Cyrena's stomach voices its approval at the sight and she laughs as Frisk climbs up without delay to sit at her unoccupied side. _**Good morning…afternoon…you slept for a while.**_

 

She takes the offered plate and smiles warmly, releasing Sans hand in turn to ruffle Frisk's mop of hair. "Thank you. Did you cook this?" she asks as she digs in, noting that Sans wasn't eating.

 

 _ **Papyrus helped! I can't cook on my own yet, but I will one day,** _ Frisk states in a matter-of-fact manner, chest puffing out proudly when they make Cyrena giggle.

 

"hey…..there's a beach near here, right? We should go," Sans voices, easing back into the couch as his words seem to spark something in the kid who's entire face seems to light up with excitement—they're practically bouncing on the cushions, looking up to Cyrena as if asking for permission even though Toriel is probably upstairs.

 

_**There's a beach?! I've never been!** _

 

"Really? Then we should go! You need to ask your mother, though, see if she wants to tag along," Cyrena offers, digging into her food with renewed vigor; she's just as excited as Frisk now at the thought of the beach.

 

She loves the ocean.

 

Frisk nods and takes off like a rocket, scrambling up the stairs to search for their goat-mother as Cyrena starts in on her pancakes. Mouth half full, she glances at the skeleton beside her and quickly swallows to flash him a smile. "Thanks for the idea, I totally forgot we lived so close."

 

He closes one socket in a wink, all smiles. "someone's gotta keep your mind off the heavy stuff, 'sides me and Paps have never been either."

 

"WHAT?!"

_____________________________

 

 _ **Cyrena, it's too much!** _ Frisk wrinkles up their nose as they try to escape from Cyrena's hands which are slathered in sunscreen.

 

"Hold still, I need to rub it in! I have to get your ears, too, plus the skin on your nose and around your eyes is thinner—you'll burn," she explains, trying desperately to keep the child safe from the harmful rays of the sun.

 

Poor Frisk thought that since none of the parents tagged along with them that they'd be able to avoid the annoyance of sunscreen… Cyrena is probably just as bad, if not, worse than their mother.

 

Satisfied with the work she did, Cyrena leans back and smiles at Frisk who stomps over to their umbrella to wait for the sunscreen to dry. Beside her, Sans is snickering at the child's predicament, unaware he's caught the attention of the witch now.

 

"Your turn," Cyrena says in a sing-song voice as she holds the bottle up and grins. Sans immediately goes quiet.

 

"bones don't burn."

 

"Papyrus put sunscreen on before we got in the car. If he has to wear it, you do, too."

 

It takes another ten minutes for Cyrena to be content with her job in coating everyone in a layer of sunscreen. Papyrus has already been wading in the shallow waters of the ocean, gentle waves lapping at his ankle-bones as he watches Bear bound through the deeper water, chasing small fish around.

 

The taller skeleton seems timid about the body of water and he continues to stand there, staring out at the endless sea when Frisk joins him, splashing in without a care in the world. Their inflatable swim wings are a smaller copy to Papyrus', and they reach up for his hand with a bright eager smile.

 

Cyrena isn't sure if Frisk says anything to him, but as she watches, the two of them face the sea together and promptly race in. Both brothers are dressed in pairs of swim trunks and tank tops: Papyrus opted for a red pair of shorts and a bright blue tank with the words "Beach Guy" on it in bold pink lettering while Sans opted with a pair of blue trunks and an off-white tank, along with bright yellow flip-flops that adorn his feet.

 

Frisk had taken longer to pick their swim wear at the store. The child wasn't sure if they wanted the simple plaid swim trunks or one of the many one-pieces. They looked almost scared as they walked the aisle with Cyrena in tow.

 

She never pegged Frisk as neither male or female. She always just referred to the child as "they" just like everyone else, and when she watched the young person browse the selections with an anxious air, she felt a twinge of sorrow at the sight.

 

Frisk likes many things—things boys like and things girls like—so they dressed in whatever caught their eye, but they usually shopped with Toriel who understood their specific tastes.

 

They were scared Cyrena wouldn't like their choice in the end, but it was the witch's next words that made Frisk's Soul flare with more adoration for their new friend: "This one is cute, it has a little skirt." They turn to find her with a polka dot, blue one-piece, and it had a skirt around the waist to add to the fashion, and Frisk rushed forward to hug her with everything they had.

 

They haven't taken it off since the store.

 

Cyrena smiles at the recent memory as she watches Frisk try to ride a small wave in, their soft voice tinkling with laughter as Papyrus tries to do the same, but ends up getting stuck in the sand due to his longer limbs.

 

"you didn't put sunscreen on."

 

She blinks and looks to Sans in surprise. She had thrown on an old swimsuit and then a cover-up; she hadn't removed the cover-up just yet, and she feels a prickle of embarrassment at the thought that she'd be more exposed than ever in front of everyone if she were to remove it in order to put sunscreen on.

 

She goes tense and smiles. "I'm ok, I wasn't planning on swimming,"

 

"who goes to the beach and doesn't swim?"

 

"I do, got a problem with it?" She crosses her arms over her chest and levels him with a hard look, daring him to challenge her logic.

 

Sans stays silent. He also picked up a pair of dark sunglasses, which he taped to the side of his skull to prevent them from sliding off, and it makes it harder to read what his intentions are since he's always smiling and his eyes are usually what she tries to go off of.

 

"you were excited to come and now you won't swim? I won't believe that. If you need help with your sunscreen, I'll help." He reaches out for her without warning and she lets out a squeak in surprise as she quickly gets into a tug of war with the skeleton over her cover-up.

 

"Sans, let go! I don't wanna swim!"

 

"too late. I'm going swimming, you're going swimming!"

 

"Don't rip it!"

 

"just let go and I won't."

 

"Bully!"

 

She isn't surprised when she loses. He's strong and she got tired and became too lazy to fight anymore. Letting out an aggravated huff, she pushes his hands away and quickly yanks the cover-up over her head and off. Tossing it aside, she fixes him with a hard look as she feels heat threatening to build in her cheeks, finding his shielded gaze now on her.

 

"Happy?"

 

"it's black."

 

She rolls her eyes skyward—no matter the species, it seems males are almost always rendered useless when confronted with a woman in a swimsuit. "I like black."

 

He shrugs, seeming to brush off whatever had momentarily grasped him, and he picks up the sunscreen bottle. She feels the pink in her cheeks fade. Crap. It's going to be cold.

 

Not even a minute later, and she's trying very hard not to squirm away as he methodically applies the cold cream to her back. She had gotten her arms and legs on her own, but the rest of her swimsuit is open at the back and she suddenly wishes she had decided to buy a new suit as his phalanges work the sunscreen into her skin.

 

She thought that his hands would've hurt, but he proves that she didn't have much to worry about, although his phalanges were firm and the texture was a bit strange, she wasn't uncomfortable. But that didn't mean she wasn't tense.

 

It was only after his fingers left her skin did she relax, but she didn't have long to relax or move away before he was gently touching her back again.

 

He's tracing along the edge of the two scars just on the edges of her shoulder blades. "don't think I forgot 'bout our deal: you'd tell me 'bout these if I went on a broom ride with ya."

 

Shit.

 

"Uhhh…." Cyrena can practically feel the gears in her brain moving as she tries to come up with a quick excuse, but she can't find one, and she did promise….

 

"Do you know how humans came to have magic?" She decides to start from the beginning, chewing anxiously at her bottom lip as she hears Sans shift a bit behind her, probably getting comfy.

 

"not really, wasn't really there for when the mages locked us up."

 

She winces a little but continues, "We're not really sure how we came to have magic…..but if we had to guess, we'd say that our ancestors were a monster and a human."

 

Sans goes quiet and she turns a bit, looking at the skeleton over her shoulder. "I know it's weird, but it's not really uncommon. I mean, lately I've heard of mixed couples on the news and stuff…." she mumbles with a shrug, "That's the only reasonable explanation we could think of."

 

His eye sockets are still hidden behind the dark lenses of his glasses, but he doesn't seem to be radiating any negative emotions. He just seems lost in thought. "yeah, that'd make sense, 'cause otherwise a lot more humans would have access to magic if the source was made by humans. 'Cause let's face it, your government would've started bottling it and selling it if they could."

 

Cyrena snorts at that, attention drawn back to Frisk and Papyrus as they trudge out of the sea water, moving towards a smooth stretch of sand like their lives depended on it.

 

"so…what does that have to do with your scars?"

 

She chews on the inside of her cheek for a moment before responding, "Every few generations, our monster genes become more…..prominent. Our magic is more emotionally controlled, we have greater access to our powers…..and we have side effects." Exhaling a breath, she reaches back to gently touch the top of her shoulder, fingers barely ghosting over the top of the scar.

 

"In my case, I grow wings." She laughs dryly, and drawing her hand back, she holds them out in front of her, palms up. "And claws." With her hands fisting, she digs her blunt nails into the delicate skin of her palms.

 

Sans moves again, but she doesn't look up to face him as he settles by her side. "does it happen a lot?"

 

"Recently, yeah it's happened more often than I'd like it to."

 

"you have control over your actions when you're like that?"

 

"Mostly, I'm fighting back against someone…so yeah, I guess I do."

 

"…..does your family know?"

 

She shakes her head quietly, hands uncurling when he reaches over to gently work his phalanges between her fingers. She can feel the powerful hum of his Soul through his bones and his magic as he presses his palm to hers.

 

"ya know, we all got a few quirks. Just 'cause you're different than us doesn't mean you're bad. We won't abandon ya just 'cause things got a little rough."

 

Cyrena lifts her head to meet his gaze, a bit surprised to see he's pushed his sunglasses up to rest atop his skull.

 

"honestly, you're the first human I've met up here that's genuinely kind. You're funny, too, though you still gotta work on those puns," he smirks and she rolls her eyes, a smile tugging at her lips. His grin fades just as fast as it appears and his hand squeezes hers. "you've been through hell and came out smiling….now that…..that's just damn amazing."

 

**Sans' POV**

 

After his little pep talk, Cyrena goes to join Frisk and Papyrus. The two of them were in middle of building sand castles and asked her to judge once they were done.

 

She was happy to lend a hand, and kneeling in the coarse sand, she watches them both work diligently, helping out when they needed it and providing pointers whenever a part didn't work out.

 

He couldn't take his eyes off her.

 

He wouldn't say he's in love…..but he can feel something…something in his Soul was forming and it was screaming at him with all its might to protect her, to make her laugh and that whoever laid a hand on her, or made her cry…well, he'd make damn sure they **suffer** .

 

"Lazy bones, get over here, I need help judging!" Her voice draws him out of his minor daze, and with a sigh and a grunt, he stands to move over to their little huddle; squatting down, he rubs a hand against his jaw bone in thought.

 

Honestly, the two sand castles were….amazing. Paps modeled his after Asgore's castle, and although it brought back a few disturbing memories, his attention to detail was incredible, not to mention he even sculpted a mini Papyrus standing in the doorway.

 

Frisk modeled theirs after the Disney castle, along with the moat which was filled with water. Geez, no wonder Cy called him over. "it's a tie," he says simply.

 

Papyrus whines for a moment while Frisk beams. His bro seems to think about it for a moment before grinning widely, chest puffing out. "I GUESS IT IS ONLY FAIR! BOTH OUR CASTLES ARE STUFF OF LEGENDS!"

 

Cyrena's smiles rivals his as she smiles back at him. "I agree! I don't think I've ever seen castles like these, you guys must've practiced a lot." Her nose crinkles just a little when she smiles, making her dusting of freckles stand out more….he's noticed recently she has a lot and they don't just stop at her face. He's noticed a lot on her arms, a few on her fingers, and more along her shoulders and back…..he wonders if they're elsewhere but he quickly stops that thought when he feels Frisks' eyes on him.

 

The child was grinning, a secretive knowing grin, and it was making his nonexistent gut clench.

 

Well shit, caught staring, he's going to get an earful later.

 

"We should enjoy the water some more before it gets dark, then we can try and get our master sculptors some ice cream," Cyrena says as she stands, dusting some sand off her legs before reaching for Frisks' hand and helping the kid to their feet.

 

Oh, oh, have you had Nice Cream?

 

"Nice Cream….? No, I haven't."

 

"OH BOY! SANS WE SHOULD GET OUR FRIEND SOME FROM YOUR CART!"

 

"heh, yeah, it'll be a ice surprise."

 

"UGH SANS!"

 

Cyrena smothers a laugh as Frisk drags her to the water. _**Watch me! I can ride a wave in!**_

 

Oh boy.

 

He can feel his Soul fluttering as she glances his way, multicolored irises meeting his gaze as she gestures for him to join in. Papyrus is already in the water again, trying to copy Frisk as they go about teaching him how to ride the smaller waves in.

 

This witch is reeling him in fast and he's not even putting up a fight


	18. Silkie

After wrangling Frisk and Papyrus in Cyrena leads the small group further along the beach, letting Frisk hang onto her hand as her and the child walk ahead of the two skeleton brothers.

The sun is slowly sinking beyond the horizon, it's rays catching the endless waters of the ocean to turn the currently calm surface a fiery mix of reds and oranges as stars twinkle into view one by one above their heads.

 _ **I love the beach!**_ Frisk skips along happily, the child's energy still hasn't been snuffed out despite the hours spent swimming and playing in the sand, Cyrena is a bit envious of their boundless energy.

"We'll defiantly have to drag your mom along next time huh?" The witch smiles widely, brushing sand from the child's mop of dark hair as they continue to walk along the cooling sands, Yeah! And the others too.

She smiles in agreement as the two of them lapse into silence again, briefly glancing over her shoulder she notes that the two of them have put quiet a gap between themselves and the skeletons, no wonder she couldn’t hear them talking…..

_**Do you like living with Sans and Papyrus?** _

Glancing down at Frisk's face she blinks in mild surprise at the child's sudden curiosity, "Yeah, it's super nice of them to let me stay, I feel like I'm intruding a bit though," she admits with a shrug of her shoulders, thumb brushing along the back of Frisk's hand, feeling the child's steady pulse and humming of their Soul soothes her as they continue to trek through the dying light.

There aren't many lights down on the beach and she feels a prickle of unease as the world slowly ebbs into a dusky gray around them, she never used to be scared of the dark……

_**Do you like Sans?** _

Cyrena's eyebrows arch and she opens her mouth to retort but a faint unfamiliar pulse draws her attention away from the child by her side, looking off into the darkness ahead she carefully moves her body ahead of Frisk, shielding the child.

 _ **What is that?** _ Frisk's hand clutches her tighter, having felt the sudden Soul wavelength as well….."I'm not sure, stay here," Cyrena releases their hand and moves forward briskly.

The new Soul is weak, pulsing dully in the night she glances back briefly to see that the brothers have reached them and Sans is following her closely, white pupils hard against the inky blackness she slows so he can catch up, "why do you always run head first towards something?" he comments once he reaches her side.

Papyrus had picked up Frisk and the child rides on his shoulders and approaches them a moment later, "WHATS THE HURRY?" he asks.

Cyrena ignores Sans' comment and looks up at the lanky skeleton instead, "There's a Soul near the water this way, someone might be hurt," Her bright eyes move to Sans again as she starts towards the Soul.

As she approaches she whispers a spell, her right palm brightens and a white orb floats into existence, floating at eye level and casting a wide ray of white light out across the sand, chasing away the shadows.

 The edge of the light falls upon a form sprawled face first out on the sand, Cyrena's heart jumps and she rushes forward immediately, kneeling by their side she reaches down to brush the pale gray hair from their face.

The child's eyelids flutter as the light is cast upon his face and he barely peeks open his dark gaze, instead he makes a strangled soft sound and ducks his head towards the sand.

"what the……..what's a kid doing out here?" Sans hovers near Cyrena's shoulder, his eyes quickly darting away from the child to search the beach for his parents.

Cyrena gently touches the child's hair again, "It's ok……I won't hurt you…" she hushes softly, voice so soft the boy turns his face back to look up at her, sniffling loudly his big brown eyes fill with tears and he makes a soft sound in his throat and reaches out a small hand towards her.

Without hesitating she carefully scoops the child off the chilling sand and into her arms, he's fairly smaller than Frisk, looking around three or four years old he's pretty skinny for his age and she notices there's a cape of some sort tied around his neck.

Adjusting him in her hold she realizes instantly what it is, "You won't find his parents out on the beach or in a house Sans, he's a selkie," she works her swimsuit cover over her head and carefully dresses the child with it.

"a what?"

"Selkie, they're a monster from the sea…..he can turn into a seal," She explains, relief easing into her as the boy's wavelength strengthens a bit as he tucks his head closer to her, eyes closing in exhaustion.

He's so small. Papyrus had let Frisk down as soon as the child had come into view and they now settle in by Cyrena, their own eyes slightly widen in awe, **_He's really a seal?_**

"Yeah, you can tell because he has his skin with him," Cyrena explains, her eyes moving off the sleeping boy's face to scour the dark ocean beyond, "We won't be able to find his parents tonight…..he's still weak, we should take him back with us and try to get him to eat," She looks up towards Sans hopefully.

The stocky skeleton seems uncertain, gazing at the sleeping monster child in her arms for a minute, "first thing tomorrow we'll come back to try and find his family," Sans says firmly, resting a hand atop Frisk's head.

Cyrena nods in understanding as she stands, the boy is very light in her arms and she has no problem holding onto him, she understands Sans hesitance, the boy is a stranger, a strange being and there's no telling if his parents will come back and if they'll be angry to find their child missing.

A pinch in Cyrena's gut tells her that they won't have to worry about angry parents…..most likely he got separated from his family, the ocean is a dangerous place these days, with natural predators and now humans out there, mythical sea creatures have been dying off at a rapid pace.

"We'll search tomorrow," She agrees.

* * *

 

Her family was surprised when they showed up with an extra child, her parents immediately took the sleeping boy from Cyrena and had Gran look him over for any sickness or injury.

He bore a few fresher wounds on his limbs that Cyrena hadn't noticed at first but they were easily treatable and were already healing ok on their own, though his slight fever was a bit more worrisome.

As they were checking his temperature with a thermometer under his tongue he woke and begin to cry loudly, wailing as a seal pup does he flashes small sharp teeth and spits the device from his mouth before trying to thrash out of Gran's arms.

Cyrena reaches out in worry, afraid the child would hurt himself and her grandmother she scoops the child from the older woman's grasp and his cries immediately die off, his sniffling dying down as he reaches out with his hands to touch her face.

"He's taken quiet a liking to you," Her Gran teases, looking over the thermometer with a light smile, "He's got a slight fever, but he's healthy otherwise, just a tad underweight but nothing some good food won't solve,"

Cyrena nods quietly, unsure whether or not she should be concerned that the strange monster child has bonded with her or not, for now she's not too worried……they'll be going out tomorrow to search the waters for his family anyways.

"We have a bit of fish ready," Her mother pokes her head out of the kitchen and Cyrena moves into the room to set the boy in her old highchair, why her parents kept it she has no idea……..

"We softened it some by warming it up," Abby says, smiling down at the boy as he looks between the two of them, probably deciding if he should start crying again or not…..

Luckily he remains quiet and even gladly takes the small bits of fish from the fork, his small sharp teeth easily making quick work of his meal Cyrena watches on with a small smile, relieved to see that he's well enough to be eating.

The smile doesn't last long, she feels someone watching her……turning slightly she spies Sans in the archway of the kitchen, leaning against the frame his gaze which had been trained on her is now on the child, his smile isn't in place but he doesn't seem upset….stepping away she approaches him.

"He's a baby….." Cyrena reminds him, watching the slight worried line between his eye sockets pinch tighter as his pupils flicker to her, " a baby with a set of sharp teeth," he points out.

"He's not going to hurt me Sans," she smiles at the flush of blue that dusts the skeleton's cheeks as he turns his head slightly, "how do you know? Your human skin is so soft and squishy…." he mumbles

"It'll be fine, he needs our help…..if Frisk was in the boy's shoes wouldn't you want someone helping them?"

Sans goes quiet for a moment, his expression easing, "yeah, yeah……guess the kid's fine, we'll be finding his family tomorrow anyways," he mumbles relenting.

Cyrena smiles widely, looking to the boy as he starts making huffing sounds, reaching out his small arms towards her, she laughs and moves to pick him up.

"kid is clingy…" Sans had approached with her, reaching out a boney hand to lightly poke the child's cheek.

The boy wrinkles his small button nose and suddenly grabs the skeleton's finger, peering at the bone closely he doesn't let go and Sans makes a strangled sound that has Cyrena laughing, snorting softly as she tries to stop her laughter.

"help," Sans says weakly, not moving an inch as the child continues to hold on, big brown eyes locked on Sans' face.

"He's only curious," Abby moves past them with the dirty dishes, fighting her own smile as the watches the three of them in amusement.

Frisk and Papyrus had turned in for the night and the child yawns widely, suddenly releasing Sans' finger to rub tiredly at his eyes, looks like it's his bedtime too…..

Cyrena frowns slightly, unsure where the child should sleep…even though they kept her highchair they didn't keep any cribs or anything and she was too afraid to have the child in her bed, fearing she may roll over him in her sleep.

Couch it is.

"Bedtime," She hums, "I need to change, can you hold him?" Without waiting for a reply she quickly passes the sleepy child to Sans.

He tenses immediately and holds the child out at arm's length, turning in search of Abby to pass the child off to her, but Cyrena's mother was nowhere to be found and the witch herself had quickly made her escape to change into her pjs.

The boy doesn't make a sound, too tired to fuss at having been passed off he only complains after a moment of being suspended in the air, slowly Sans moves the child closer to him, still tense as the boy snuggles against the front of his hoody.

Cyrena takes her time, having to brush sand from her skin she wipes her body down with a wash cloth since it was too late to take a bath and quickly dries off before dressing in a fuzzy pair of pj's, making her way downstairs she slows as she rounds the stairs, gaze falling upon the sight on the couch.

Sans looks to her and she doesn't miss the flush of blue on his cheekbones as she covers her mouth to stop from squealing at the sight, the child is fast asleep against the skeleton's chest, limbs curled in close he snoozes away without a care in the world, one of Sans' arms is draped around him to ensure he doesn't slip down in his sleep.

Cyrena quickly searches for her phone, grinning widely when Sans blush only increases upon her taking the photo, "you better delete that," he threatens as she moves over to sit beside him, looking to the movie he put on.

"Nope, something like this doesn't happen every day, I'm keeping it forever for blackmail," she says smirking, "And my phone has a lock on it so you can't delete it," she says in a sing-song voice, enjoying this way too much.

Sans rolls his eyes and focuses on the movie, too tired and lazy to really care at the moment.

It doesn't take very long for the two of them to fall victim to the pull of sleep, slumping over, Cyrena's head comes to rest on the skeleton's shoulder and after a moment his cheekbone presses against the crown of her head.

The three are unaware that another photo was taken, curtsey of Cyrena's father who had traveled downstairs to secure a midnight snack, his grin rivals Cyrena's previous grin as he gazes at them, carefully dragging a blanket across them he moves upstairs to show his wife the perfect photo he just took.


End file.
